Nicole and Kathleen
by Angelic Prophecy
Summary: What happens when you have a magic TV and you get trapped in your favorite movie with the guy of your dreams? What happens when your annoying best friend gets dragged along for the ride? The adventure of a lifetime, of course! RileyxOC ---Complete---
1. 1: Magic TV

**A/N: This story came from the minds of me and my best friend. We were talking about National Treasure and what we would say were we in the movie. And then I developed two OCs using that idea. This is written in the POV of one of those OCs, who is named Kathleen.**

**By the way, I**

I was at my best friend's house, getting ready to watch a movie. That wouldn't be very exciting to most of you, but you don't know anything about my friend. Her TV sucks us into what we're watching. I'm not lying. You want proof? This story is proof.

Anyway, we were going to watch my favorite movie of all time, National Treasure. We pop it in. Then, the screen turns to static, and we conveniently remember that her TV sucks us. Well, by now, it's too late.

The next thing I know, I'm on the ground, and I'm wet and cold.

"Can we not have a normal day?" Nicole cried in exasperation. I sat up, brushing snow from my hair.

"I guess not. Especially when we watch your television." I sighed. Then I saw two snow mobiles on the horizon. Nicole and I started jumping up and down like mad to get their attention. They stopped, and a man, who looks about thirty, got out. We both knew who that man was, of course, especially me, since I'd seen this movie a million times. It was Ben Gates.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"No, we're just two teenage girls stuck in the Arctic." Nicole snapped. "Of course you can help us!"

"Can we have a ride?" I asked, trying to be somewhat polite and save Nicole.

"I suppose." Ben blinked. Nicole and I climbed into the snowmobile, into the back. Even though I knew he'd be there, I still couldn't believe it when I saw Riley sitting there, in all his cuteness. He hardly noticed us though.

"At least we're in a PG movie." Nicole whispered.

"Yeah, this could be worse." I pointed out. Suddenly Riley looked up, letting out a little shout of surprise

"Uh…Ben, why are there two teenage girls sitting next to me? Am I missing something?"

"I found them out in the snow. They need a ride." Ben told him. We started driving again.

"So, what are you two talking about?" Riley asked curiously. I shifted a little in my seat. How do we explain this to him?

"You want the truth?" I asked slowly.

"Yeah, we're dying to know." I was pretty sure this was sarcasm, but I wasn't quite sure. I didn't know Ben could be sarcastic

"Well…" Nicole began "You asked. I have a TV that sucks me and Kathleen into whatever it is we're watching. We were watching this, so we ended up here."

"Right. Magic TV." Riley replied sarcastically. I could already tell Nicoleand Riley weren't quite hitting it off.

"You asked."

"Really wish I hadn't."

"Fine, be that way." Nicole crossed her arms and actually stayed quiet for a moment, much to my relief

"Ben, these girls have issues." Riley told him.

"I don't know, it seems kind of believable." Ben said slowly.

"Yeah, two teenagers reaching the middle of the arctic via a magic TV is believable!" Riley exclaimed.

"What kind of answer were you expecting, exactly?" Nicole asked him.

"I don't know." Riley gave up. "You were looking for Santa?"

"Oh, that's reasonable! Besides, if he existed he would have frozen to death by now!" Nicole exclaimed.

"I'm guessing you're cold?" I asked.

"We've got extra coats." Ben suggested. Ian threw them back at us. Until now, I hadn't even noticed him.

"Hello to you, too." Nicole said irritably, pulling on the warm coat that was at least 5 sizes too big for her. She didn't really seem to care, though.

"So what are you doing here, anyway?" Nicole asked. I rolled my eyes.

"You should know that." I reminded her

"Well, I'm not a fanatic like _some_ people I could mention." She replied, staring at me.

"I'm not a fanatic! I'm just…just…just passionate." I defended myself. I think she groaned. I knew this would be a long treasure hunt.


	2. 2 : A Crush?

A few minutes later, Riley's computer started beeping annoyingly.

"Are getting closer?" Ian asked.

"Assuming Ben's theory is correct, and my tracking model's accurate, we should be getting very close. But don't go by me. I broke a shoelace this morning." Ian and Ben looked at him strangely.

"It's a bad omen." He and I said at the same time. He looked at me. I could swear I was blushing; my face became hot so suddenly.

"All omens are bad, though." Nicole pointed out. "Unless there's a good omen I don't know about."

"Should we turn around and go home?" Ian asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Or we could just pull over and throw them all out here." Ben laughed.

"I'm glad you're enjoying our company." I said sarcastically.

"All we did was get sucked into my TV!" Nicole said innocently.

"Right… the magic TV again." Riley replied.

"Shut up Riley!" Nicole cried. I was fed up with all the fighting, which made me extremely mad. And when I get mad I do _very_ stupid things. Like shouting something about a person who's 2 feet away…

"Don't tell the cute one to shut up, Nicole!"

Needless to say, every eye turned on me. If I could have, I would have just jumped out right then and there. But on the other hand, that would have meant leaving Riley and Nicole alone. If they really got into it. Only one would come out alive. And if I know her well, it would be Nicole.

As I contemplated stabbing myself, with Ben's pocketknife, I mentally kicked myself over and over for being so stupid.

"You think I'm cute?" Riley asked. I couldn't tell if he found it funny or strange that an 18 year old had a crush on him.

"I-I-I…" Just as I was about to respond, I was saved by the beeping of his computer, signifying we'd reached our destination.

"Great, I'm cold again." Nicole shivered as she climbed out.

"At least you didn't completely embarrass yourself in front of Riley." I muttered. Meanwhile, Riley had just finished explaining to one of Ian's henchmen how a ship would get out here. Nicole walked over.

"But he's no expert, so I wouldn't trust him." Nicole said. Riley glared at her.

"Do you _ever_ shut up?"

"No. Kathleen's the quiet one." Nicole pointed at me. Riley looked at me again. I felt myself immediately drawn to his bright blue eyes. I could practically lose myself in those… No, now is not the time for that. I need to get on with my story.

Well, anyway, he just looked at me. And he looked amused.

"Out of you two, you're my favorite." Riley smiled at me. My face grew hot, again, but I was saved again, this time by Ben making some kind of commotion.

"I found it! It's over here! I found it!"

------------------------------

After almost an hour, the Charlotte was up above the snow. We descended into the bottom of the ship. Ben pulled up a door with some very sharp looking icicles on it. Nicole snapped off the end of one and started poking me in the back until I grabbed out of her hands and threw it, accidentally hitting a henchman in the back of the head.

"Sorry." I whispered as I passed him. He looked confused. We wandered, and I was just waiting for the moment…

Then Riley started freaking out, and he actually fell on top of me.

"Get off!" I tried to say, but it came out more like "Geof!" He quickly got up off me.

"You handled that well." Ben said. He can be sarcastic! Who knew?

"I…uh…sorry." Riley apologized to me. Then he quickly walked away. I think it was his turn to be embarrassed.

"This is it." Ben called from the front of the pack. "The cargo hold." He opened the door and looked inside the room, which was full of barrels

"You think it's in the barrels?" Riley asked. We slowly spread out around the hold, looking in the barrels. I giggled a little when Riley accidentally pulled a cork from one of the barrels and dropped it. Ian, meanwhile, sniffed the dark powdered substance.

"Gunpowder." He said. After seeing this movie so many times, I wasn't surprised that he knew what gunpowder was. Suddenly Ben called out from across the hold.

"I think I found something." We all huddled around. I knew what was going, but kept my mouth shut. "Do you guys know what this is?"

"Is it a pipe?" Nicole asked. I could tell she was being her usual sarcastic self.

"Is it a billion dollar pipe?" Riley asked.

"It's a meerschaum pipe." Ian took it from Ben, holding it carefully

"Is it a million dollar pipe?" Riley persisted.

"I want to go home. I'm bored." Nicole whined.

"You know how this works. We can't go home until the movie is over." I reminded her. Then Ben cut his thumb with a pocketknife. I saw Riley cringe.

"What? Can't take a little blood?" I smirked at him.

"Are you asking to get that infected?" Nicole cried. "Don't smear it on that pipe! Do you know where that thing has been?" I rolled my eyes. Ben pulled out his pocketbook, ignoring her. He rolled the pipe over the paper.

"Templar symbols…" He murmured.

"Who cares?" Nicole asked irritably. Ben glared at her, giving her a look that said "I do."

" _The legend writ,_

_The stain affected,_

_The key in Silence, undetected,_

_55 in iron pen,_

_Mr. Matlack can't offend._"

As Ben walked around, he rambled.

"Blah…blah…blah… That's all I'm getting." Nicole said. "No wonder Abigail likes him.

"Who?" Ben asked suddenly.

"Never mind." I said quickly. I smacked Nicole in the head. "You need to shut your mouth." I warned her.

"Fine." Nicole plopped herself down on a barrel and crossed her arms. If only she wasn't making this so difficult…


	3. 3: Revelations

About half a second later, Ben's motormouth began running again, which truly didn't surprise me much. I began to wonder if the guy ever stopped talking.

"The key in silence could be…"

"Prison." Shaw said suddenly. Everybody looked at him strangely. I was holding my breath, waiting for….

"Albuquerque. See I can do it too. Snorkel."

I couldn't help but giggle. That was one of my favorite lines in the entire movie.

"Why are you laughing? I don't get it." Nicole whispered, a bewildered look on her face.

"Because Riley's funny." I whispered back.

"You're just saying that because you like him." Nicole countered.

I opened my mouth to retort, but I didn't have a good comeback. Because it was true.

I heard Shaw muttering to himself. "Because it's a prison." I rolled my eyes.

"Wait iron pen." Ben began. Here we go… "The iron doesn't describe the ink the pen, it describes what was penned. It was iron, it was firm, it was mineral, no, no, no…."

I then realized how boring this scene actually was when you couldn't hear the swelling music you usually hear when you're watching the movie. Even so, it was pretty evident he was having a revelation of some sort.

"It was firm, it was adamant, it was resolved. It was resolved."

"Ben Gates, the walking thesaurus." I muttered under my breath. Nicole suddenly found it hard to keep a straight face. As Ben continued talking, I wasn't quite sure who he was talking to, us or himself.

"Mr. Matlack can't offend. Timothy Matlack was the official scribe of the continental congress. And to make sure he could not offend the map it was put on the back of a resolution, a resolution that he transcribed, a resolution that 55 men signed."

"56." I corrected. He gave me a _thanks-for-ruining-my-moment _look, which I returned with a grin.

"The Declaration of Independence." Ben finished. I heard Ian take a sharp breath.

"That makes sense." I nodded in agreement.

"Come on, there's no invisible map on the back of the Declaration of Independence." Riley protested.

"That's what you think." Nicole told him. I rolled my eyes, hoping she wouldn't try to start another argument.

"It's clever really. A document of that importance would ensure the map's survival. And you said several Masons signed it, yeah?" Ian seemed rather intrigued.

"Nine for sure." Ben said quietly.

"So… what now?" I asked.

"We'll have to arrange a way to examine it." Ian said finally.

"Ian, this is the Declaration of Independence. They're not going to let us waltz in there and run chemical tests on it." Ben protested.

"Then what do we do?" Nicole asked. She probably knew the answer, but she was pretty good at playing along, pretending she didn't know anything.

"I don't know!" Ben sounded frustrated.

"We could… borrow it." Ian said quietly.

"Aren't we talking about the Declaration of Independence here? Stealing that is majorly illegal. Plus, I don't think any of us are going to help you." I motioned to Ben, Riley, and Nicole.

"She's right Ian. We aren't going to let you steal the Declaration of Independence!" Ben cried. Nicole and Riley nodded in agreement. I crossed my arms over my chest, trying to look like the decision was finally.

"Well." Ian looked at me. "It looks like you're going to be a bit of a hindrance." He nodded to Shaw.

Shaw suddenly grabbed by the shoulders, pulling me towards him. Then I felt the barrel of a gun pressed against my temple. This was bad. Very bad.

**A/N: Apologies for the shortness! Please review. **

**Come on! You know you want to!**


	4. 4: Explosion

My eyes were open wide with fear as they darted from person to person. Nicole had an evil look on her face, and Riley stood there, wide-eyed and shocked. Ben looked calm, almost too calm for my linking. Shaw had a bruising grip on my shoulder, and he held the gun firmly against my head.

"Ben, unless you'd like her to die, I suggest, you help me out here."

Ben had a torn look on his face. He didn't want to help Ian, but didn't want me to die. I was thankful for that. I heard the click of the gun as Shaw pushed down the lever on the end as a warning. Now I was scared. This guy was really going to shoot me!

But he suddenly doubled over, like he'd been kicked. And he had. Apparently, while everyone was focused on me, Riley walked over and decided to kick Shaw. Where it really hurts. Even though I don't know why Riley'd done it, I was glad he had. Acting on a reflex, I kicked the gun out of Shaw's hand, sending it flying across the cargo hold. Ian scrambled after it and picked it up, pointing it at Ben now.

"Ben." Ian warned. "I really need your help here.

"What, are you going to shoot me, Ian?" Ben asked, almost mockingly. "Well you can't shoot me. Because there's more to the riddle, information you don't have, I do. I'm the only one who can solve it and you know it."

"He's…bluffing." Shaw said, still recovering from being kicked.

"We play poker together Ian, you know I can't bluff." Ben said.

"Alright, tell me what I need to know, or I'll shoot your friend." Ian pointed at Riley now, who tried to hide himself as best he could. I huddled behind him, whimpering.

"Hey!" Riley protested. Ben suddenly lit a flare, turning the attention back towards him. I only huddled closer to Riley, and Nicole ran over and joined us (though she slipped on the way over).

"You had to open your mouth." Nicole said, giving me a _you're-so-totally-insane _sort of look.

"I didn't know I would nearly get shot!" I protested quietly.

Then Ben flew the flare. I saw Riley squeeze his eyes shut like he figured he was going to die. Ian caught it.

"Nice try though, Ben." Suddenly Ian's arm went up in flames. The next part was a bit of a blur. Gunshots echoed around the ship, and flames went up everywhere. It was a lot scarier when you were actually there. Ian and Shaw ran out and shut the door behind them. I think I screamed as flames burst even higher. I knew we would survive, but I was still scared. Suddenly, I heard Ben's voice.

"Guys, get over here." We all scrambled over to where Ben was standing. Without a word, I dropped myself into the hole and pretty much crawled for my life. Barely 30 seconds later, the ship exploded. My ears popped and debris flew up into the air.

Everything seemed to slow down. Darkness suddenly consumed my vision.

NKNKNKNKNKNKNKNKNKNKNKNKNK

The next thing I remembered was lying on a bed. Where was I? I blinked. Nicoel rushed over.

"Kathleen, thank god you're OK. You passed out when the ship exploded. I was afraid you got hurt or something." Nicole spoke extremely fast. I suddenly looked around, realizing I was in a small room in some kind of inn.

"H-How did I get here?" I asked quietly. I knew this inn was probably in the village almost nine miles away from the Charlotte.

"Riley carried you."

I bolted upright. To tell the truth, Riley doesn't seem like the kind to do something like that. He seems like the kind of quiet, shy type, not some super outward gentleman.

"Really?"

"Yep." Nicole grinned at me. "He likes you."

"What are you talking about? Why would he like me?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not sure. But I can tell, he likes you, Kathleen. He saved your life didn't he?"

I took a minute to let all this soak in. It was true, he did save me getting shot. And I never even thanked him for it.

"Where are they, anyway?" I asked. She pointed at a door.

"This used be Ian and Shaw's room. They got adjoining ones." She explained. I got off the bed and knocked.

"Come in." I heard one of them call. I warily opened the door. Riley was fiddling with the TV, and I wasn't sure where Ben was. He was probably trying to find food, because it was close to dinnertime.

"Hey."

Riley looked up at me. "Oh, hey, you're up." He went back to playing with TV antenna.

"I was just wondering…" I paused, swallowed, and continued. "Why are you doing all of this for me? Saving me, and all."

He fixed the antenna and then stood up, looking down at me. I could almost feel his breath on my face.

"I don't know. I just wanted to help you. I mean, you seem nice, and I guess I wanted to help."

"You didn't have to, you know." I said softly. 

"I know."

"Well, thanks." I whispered getting ready to leave.

"You're welcome."

I suddenly paused, and turned back around.

"Riley?"

"Yeah?"

I swallowed nervously. Now what was I supposed to say? I shook my head.

"Oh, what the heck." I said, more to myself then him. "Riley, how do you feel about girls who make the first move?"

Oh my god, did I actually say that? Maybe I was insane. Where did that come from? Oh great, Just great. Time to embarrass myself. Again.


	5. 5: Passionate

**Disclaimer: You ought to know by now.**

I swallowed. What a dork. Not only was I technically hitting on him, it was a line from a TV show. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from groaning out loud. Riley looked a little confused.

"Well… I'm not sure. It's never happened to me before."

I had to think quickly. I wasn't ready to kiss him. I'd just met him. I did the first thing that came to mind.

"Goodness. We should fix that." I walked over and smiled warmly, giving him a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thanks Riley. For saving my life and everything."

He smiled. "No problem."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

A few days later, we walked out of the FBI building in DC. Riley and Ben seemed disappointed, but since Nicole and I knew what was going to happen, we weren't really surprised. I was glad to be back in the nice, warm USA

"Is it really so hard to believe that someone's going to steal the Declaration of Independence?" Riley asked, almost sounding angry.

"Well, the reasons we gave aren't exactly that normal. I'm surprised no one's dragged us off to the funny farm yet." Nicole remarked.

"Besides, the FBI gets 10,000 tips a week. They're not going to worry about something they're sure is safe." Ben reminded us.

"Look, anyone who can actually help us is going to think we're absolutely nuts, and anyone who actually believes us is probably crazy." I said.

"We don't need to find someone crazy, but one step short of crazy. What do you get?"

"Obsessed!" Riley exclaimed.

"Passionate." Ben and I said simultaneously. I nodded to Riley and walked away.

A few minutes later, I was sitting in the National Archives, waiting for our talk with Dr. Chase. Nicole had somehow gotten bored already, and she decided to cure her boredom by drumming her fingers on the table loudly. After about 2 minutes of constant drumming, I grabbed her hand out of annoyance. Then the secretary came to us.

"Dr. Chase will see you now, Mr. Brown."

"Mr. Brown?" Riley asked.

"Family name doesn't get a lot of respect in the academic community." Ben explained quietly.

"Oh… Being kept down by the man." Riley looked up, seeing Dr. Chase. "A very cute man."

I rolled my eyes, and Nicole and I exchanged looks. I straightened my black skirt and let out a small sigh. Dr. Chase stood from her desk, coming to greet us.

"Good afternoon. Abigail Chase." She shook Ben's hand.

"Paul Brown." Ben introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you." She smiled.

"Bill." Riley said simply. I stifled a giggle.

"Nice to meet you…Bill." Dr. Chase didn't sound entirely sure. "And these two ladies are your daughters then?"

Nicole nearly choked, and I had to bite the inside of cheek to keep a groan from escaping. I looked up at Ben nervously.

"No, they're my nieces. Martha and Mary." Ben said quickly. I almost groaned again. Leave to Ben Gates to name us after First Ladies. Dr. Chase smiled at us.

"Nice to meet you." I said quietly. I elbowed Nicole rather hard, and she repeated my words.

"Nice to meet you as well." Dr. Chase greeted us.

"Your accent. Pennsylvania Dutch?" Ben asked.

"Saxony German." She replied with a smirk. Ben looked rather interested. He would be interested by that sort of thing.

"You're not American?" Riley asked rather rudely. I seated myself in one of the chairs, crossing my legs.

"I am an American, I just wasn't born here. Please don't touch that!" Dr. Chase said suddenly to Ben.

"Sorry. George Washington's campaign button. You're missing the 1789 inaugural though. I found one once."

"Uncle Ben?" I said through clenched teeth.

"That's very fortunate for you." Dr. Chase said flatly. She did not sound impressed at all. "Now, you told my assistant this was an urgent matter." She reminded him.

"Ah, yes ma'am." Ben sat in the remaining chair. "I'm going to get straight to the point. Someone's going to steal the Declaration if Independence."

"Really, it's true. I know. I was there." Nicole said, smiling, standing behind my chair.

"I think I'd better put you in touch with the FBI…"

"We've already been to the FBI, ma'am." I said quietly.

"And…" The way she said it made it sound like a question.

"They assured us the Declaration couldn't possibly be stolen." Riley told her.

"They're right." She said simply. We all exchanged a few nervous glances,

"Well, we believe otherwise." Ben said. "If were given the privilege of examining the document, we would be able to tell you for certain if it were in any danger."

"What do you think you're going to find?" Dr. Chase sat back in her chair.

"Well… we think there's something on the back of it." I said slowly.

"Like what?" She asked.

"Cartograph." Ben said simply. I was sure he was trying to impress her with his big words. And it wasn't really working.

"A map." She translated.

"Yes ma'am." Ben nodded.

"A map of what?"

"The location of…" Ben cleared his throat nervously. "hidden items of historic and intrinsic value."

"A treasure map?" Dr. Chase asked, almost unbelievingly.

"That's where we lost the FBI." Riley and I said simultaneously. I glanced at him.

"You're treasure hunters, aren't you?" She asked.

"Pretty much, yeah." Nicole nodded. Dr. Chase leaned forward.

"I've personally seen the back of the Declaration of Independence."

"That's nice." Nicole chimed in. I wasn't sure why, but I suddenly had a strong urge to slap her. Dr. Chase gave her a look before continuing.

"I promise you all, the only thing there is a notation that reads 'Original Declaration of Independence dated…'"

" 'dated 4th July, 1776, yes ma'am." Ben finished.

"But no map." She said.

We all glanced at each other, feeling a bit nervous. I couldn't believe that I was nervous even though I knew exactly what would happen next. Ben seemed to move his mouth, unable to find words. I decided to speak for him, after the long and uncomfortable silence.

"It's invisible." I said softly.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

**A/N: OK, I'm stopping it there. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed! You should know the drill!**


	6. 6: Why Me?

"It's invisible."

"Oh." Dr. Chase drew out the word. I stared at my hands which were folded in my lap. "Right."

"And that's where we lost the Department of Homeland Security." Riley said quietly.

"What lead you to assume there's this invisible map?" Riley and Ben seemed to perk up a little. She actually sounded interested.

"We founded an engraving on the stem of a 200 year old pipe." Ben told her.

"Owned by Freemasons."

"But we don't have it." Nicole added. Dr. Chase leaned forward.

"Did Bigfoot take it?"

I had to stifle a giggle. I'd never really found that line funny, but the way she said it made me want to laugh out loud. She just sounded so serious

"It was nice meeting you." Ben said, standing from his chair. I stood as well, smoothing my skirt. I waved, smiling.

"Nice to meet you too." Dr. Chase smiled. Nicole and I walked out of the office.

"It's hard. Pretending not to know what's going to happen." Nicole whispered to me. I nodded in agreement.

"I'm surprised you haven't said anything by now." I remarked. Nicole sent me a death glare. I stood in front of the Declaration case, and I was suddenly hit with a wave of realization. Here I was, trapped in a place where I didn't even exist, and I wasn't even sure why. As I thought about it, the more confused I became. Why _were_ we here?

I could hear Ben and Riley approaching, but I stood there, digging myself into deeper confusion. After a little more hard thinking, I felt a warm hand on my shoulder. I looked behind me slowly. It was Riley.

"You OK?" Could that be… concern in his voice? No, of course not. I mean, why would Riley be concerned about me?

"I'm fine. Why do you ask?" I looked around, suddenly realizing Ben and Nicole had already gone. Riley and I walked quickly together, trying to catch up.

"You just seemed kind of quiet, is all." Riley said. I shrugged.

"So, what's Ben up to now?" I asked, fully aware of what Ben was thinking.

"Well, he just said he was going to steal the Declaration." Riley said quietly. He didn't look happy about it either. I tried my best to feign shock.

"Isn't that we were trying to stop Ian from doing?"

"Yeah. It seems Ben is confused about which side he's on." Riley started walking faster and faster. I nearly had to run to keep up.

"Justin, will you slow down!" I clapped a hand over my mouth. Why did I have to be so _stupid_?!?! Riley suddenly stopped and turned around.

"Justin? Who's Justin?" He asked, confused. I stammered, feeling that familiar warmth returning to my face that told me I was turning red again.

Why did I get this way around him? Sure, I'd had a crush on him for a while, but I've never made such a fool out of myself before!

"No one important. You two just look a lot alike." A covered quickly. Riley still looked confused, but nodded. "Come on. We need to find Ben."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

The four of us were sitting together on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. I had managed to tone down the red of my cheeks and keep Nicole from finding out about anything that had happened. But she still knew something was up, I could tell in the way she was looking at me.

"What happened?" Nicole whispered.

"Nothing." I insisted. She'd asked 5 times already. I ignored her when she kept asking. Riley looked deep in thought.

"This is huge." Riley said softly.

"Yeah, I agree with him." I spoke up. "You could go to prison for this Ben! Spend the rest of your life in prison, with your conscience eating away at you for the rest of your life!" I exclaimed. Ben looked at me, not looking the least bit thankful for what I'd said.

"If I don't do this, Ian will, and he could destroy the Declaration, Kathleen!" Ben seemed frustrated. "If we have it, it'll be safe."

"You're crazy! Seriously, what is your issue?" Nicole jumped up, looking Ben straight in the eye. I grabbed her shoulder, pulling her back down. Riley stood up calmly.

"Think about this. It's like stealing a national monument!" Riley motioned to the Washington Monument behind him, and then motioned to the statue of Abraham Lincoln behind us. "It's like stealing him! It's not that it shouldn't be done, it _can't _be done! Here, let me show you." Riley looked at all of us, giving a cute little nod of his head. I grinned. This was going to be fun.


	7. 7: Libraries and a Kiss?

**Here's Chapter 7! And as you all know, I don't own National Treasure.**

About half an hour later, we sat in the Library of Congress. Riley had gathered up some papers, and I sat next to him, Nicole on the opposite side. We look at each other, knowing grins on our faces. Riley and Ben don't seem to notice. Riley clears his throat, ready to begin his speech.

"Ok, pay attention. I've brought you all to the Library of Congress. Why? Because it's one of the biggest libraries in the world. Over 20 million books."

"Wow." I say to myself, looking around. This is my dream library. I could research just about anything here.

"And they're all saying the same thing." Riley continues. "Listen to Riley. What we have here, guys, is an entire layout of the Archives, short of builder's blueprints. We've got phone lines, construction orders, water and sewage, it's all here." Riley holds up each one as he lists them off.

"You'd think this stuff wouldn't be so easy to get." Nicole remarked. I nodded in agreement.

"Well, not necessarily easy." Riley grinned, looking rather mischievous. I wanted him to explain, but that could wait. He put a book over the counter and began his speech. "Now, when the Declaration's on display, it's surrounded by guards, and video monitors, and little families from Iowa, and little kids on their eighth grade field trips."

I giggled. Riley smiled at me, probably glad that someone appreciated his attempts at humor.

"And beneath an inch of bullet proof glass is an army of sensors and heat monitors that will go off if someone gets too close with a high fever." Riley paused to turn the page. "When it's not on display, it is lowered into a four foot thick, concrete, steel plated vault, which happens to be equipped with electric combination lock and biometric access denial system." 

"Wow. That makes things a lot harder." I said, trying to pretend I didn't know what was coming next.

"Just a little." Riley said. Now it was Ben's turn.

"Did you know it took Thomas Edison nearly 2000 tries to develop the carbonized cotton thread filament for the incandescent light bulb?"

"What?"

I had forgotten. Nicole was not into using big words. Ben ignored her.

"Edison?" Riley seemed confused.

"Well, that's a lovely bit of trivia there Ben." I commented.

"When asked abut it, he said 'I didn't fail, I found out 2000 ways not to make a light bulb.' But he only needed one way to make it work." Ben placed another book over on the side of the counter where Riley and I sat. "The preservation room. Enjoy. Go ahead."

Riley sat down, pulling the book towards him.

"Do you know what the preservation room is for?" Ben asked.

"Delicious jams and jellies?" Riley asked. I had to stifle another giggle. Nicole sighed.

"Thanks Riley. Now you made me hungry." She said. I reached over and smacked her.

"You're _always_ hungry, Nicole." I laughed, shaking my head.

"No, not jams and jellies, Riley." Ben shook his head. "The preservation room is where they clean, maintain, and repair all the documents and storage housings when they're not on display or in the vault. Now, when the case needs work…"

"They take it to the preservation room!" Nicole and I said in unison. Ben looked a little surprised.

"You two catch on quickly. Now, the best time for us or Ian to steal it would be the gala this weekend when the guards are distracted by the VIPs upstairs. But we'll make out way to the preservation room where there's much less security." Ben sat back in his chair, giving Riley time to think it all over.

"Hmm… Ian…the gala…preservation room…" Riley looked up, his eyes meeting Ben's. "This might be possible."

Ben nodded. "It might."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

The next 3 days became a blur of preparation. There was so much we had to put together. We decided I would go with Ben. I was reluctant at first, for I feared Nicole and Riley might kill each other. But after lots of reassuring, I finally decided to go with him. The night of the gala came quickly. I stood in the bedroom of Ben's apartment, changing into the dress I was going to wear.

It was a floor length halter dress, and it was dark blue. It fit me pretty well. I looked myself over in the mirror. My hair was up in a bun, except for one strand that refused stay in place, and I was wearing a pair of heels beneath the dress. I heard knocking on the door as a tried to move

"Kathleen, are you almost…" Riley stopped short as I opened the door. His mouth was hanging open in shock. "ready."

"Is something wrong?" I asked, tilting my head to the side. "Do I look bad?"

"No…No, no no. You look…you look amazing." Riley stammered.

"Thanks." I grinned. We stayed silent for a moment. Our faces were barely inches apart. My heart was pounding in my chest. I stared into his eyes for a long time, and he stared back. "Something wrong?"

"You're really beautiful." He said softly. I could feel my heart in my ears. He had to be kidding right? But I found out that he wasn't as he closed the gap between our faces. The kiss was soft and sweet. I leaned back against the wall, feeling his tongue gently trace my bottom lip. After about another minute, he finally pulled away. I was breathing hard.

"Wow." I said softly. "No one's ever kissed me like that before."

"It wasn't bad, was it?"

I shook my head. "No. Not at all." I walked away, going to gather up the rest of my things. I couldn't wait to tell Nicole!

**Sorry. Had to do it. . I don't know why. I've always wanted to kiss Riley, so I had Kathleen do it. Closest I could get.**

**Thanks for reading! You know the drill!**


	8. 8: The Gala

We arrived at the Archives around 7:00. I couldn't believe that Ben paid two hundred dollars just to get me into the party. Before getting out of the van, I flashed Riley a big smile, and he smiled back.

"What are you guys smil-" I slammed the van door in Nicole's face, cutting her off. There would be plenty of time to explain later. I nodded to Ben. I was supposed to go in first, and then wait for him. I crossed the street quickly. Well, as quickly as one possibly can in high heels.

"Can you hear me?" I said quietly into the microphone on my dress.

"I hear you loud and clear!" That was Nicole.

"Riley?"

"Yeah."

"Ben?"

"Check."

"Checkmate!"

"Nicole, will you shut up?"

"No, Riley, I will not shut up!"

"Stop it!" I ordered into the microphone. People around me gave me funny looks. I grinned nervously before walking away. "People are going to think I'm crazy!"

I walked around the room, waiting for Ben. I felt a tap on my shoulder. A boy about my age stood there with a glass of champagne, a confident smile on his face.

"Hello." I greeted, trying to smile.

"I couldn't help but notice a pretty girl like you wandering around here all alone. I was wondering if you'd like to dance."

I smiled politely, shaking my head. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I'm here with my uncle. I'm waiting for him to come in."

"Just one dance?" He asked. He was persistent, that I had to admit. I shook my head again.

"Sorry. I'm taken." I gave the boy an apologetic smile before walking away.

"Who are you talking to?" Riley asked over the headset.

"Just some boy. He wanted me to dance with him." I explained.

"Oh." He sounded a little annoyed.

"How do you look?" Riley was addressing Ben now.

"Not bad."

"Mazel tov."

I grinned to myself as I paced outside of the bathroom, waiting for him. He finally walked out.

"About time." I said.

"Hello to you too." Ben said flatly.

"You look nice." I smiled.

"Not so bad yourself, Mary." He grinned. I rolled my eyes.

We walked around, looking for Dr. Chase. Finally we spotted her. Ben took two champagne glasses, one for himself and one for Dr. Chase. I was going to take one, but Ben gave me that look that every responsible adult gives you when you're about to do something wrong. Finally we walked up to Dr. Chase.

"Dr. Chase?" Ben asked. She turned around, surprised.

"Oh, Mr. Brown. Mary." She nodded to me.

"Good evening ma'am." I smiled brightly.

"What are you doing here?" She asked curiously.

"Is that that hot girl? How does she look?" I heard Riley ask. I made a mental note to talk to him about that later.

"I made a last minute donation. A pretty big one." Ben explained. "This is for you." He handed her the champagne.

"Thank you. And on that subject, thank you for your wonderful gift."

"It wasn't any trouble." I smiled.

"You did get it?" Ben sounded relieved.

"I normally couldn't accept something like that, but I really wanted it." Dr. Chase grinned.

"Well, you needed it." Ben said.

"Are we here to get the Declaration or impress Abigail?" Nicole asked. I tried hard not to roll my eyes.

"I have been wondering, though, what the engraving indicated on the pipe that Bigfoot took." Dr. Chase said. I opened my mouth to respond when another man walked up, holding champagne as well.

"Hi. Here you go." He handed Dr. Chase the champagne glass.

"Oh, Dr. Herbert, this is Mr. Brown, and his niece Mary." Dr. Chase introduced.

"Hi." Dr. Herbert seemed to sense the awkwardness of the situation.

"Hi there." Ben smiled. I didn't say anything, just smiled.

"Who's the stiff?" Riley asked.

"Be nice Riley!" Nicole chided.

"I don't have to be nice!"

"Well you should!"

If I could have, I would've yelled at them both, so I just had to ignore it. Ben took Dr. Chase's champagne glass and handed it to me. I made sure to hold it by the bottom.

"A toast, yeah?" Ben began. "To high treason. That's what these men were committing when they signed the Declaration…."

I looked around the room. The boy who had asked me to dance was sitting alone, looking rather miffed. I felt a little guilty, but I brushed it away. I was here on a mission.

"…And, oh, my personal favorite, had their entrails cut out and _burned_ !" Ben said, laughing. He suddenly turned serious. "So here's to the men who did what was considered wrong in order to do what they knew was right. What they knew was right." Ben said the last part quietly to himself. As everyone else took a sip of champagne, Ben downed the entire glass.

"I'm sorry, it seems Uncle Paul has had a bit too much champagne. I should probably get him home now. Good night!" I said quickly to Drs. Chase and Herbert before taking Ben's hand and leading him away. I walked to a water fountain, dumping the glass before handing it to Ben.

"What did you do that for?" He asked me.

"What the heck kind of toast was that?" I countered. He opened his mouth to respond, but didn't. "Now, are we going to do this? Go on!" I pushed him into the bathroom. I leaned against the wall, letting a sigh escape. Men.

**I hope you enjoyed! I'll update ASAP!**

**Press the review button or the review fairy will haunt you forever!**


	9. 9: The Declaration

After a few minutes of waiting for Ben and listening to Riley and Nicole bicker nonstop, I was about to scream. Finally, Ben came out of the bathroom with Abigail's fingerprint. I ran up to him.

"They're driving me _nuts!_" I exclaimed.

"Me too." Ben nodded in agreement. We walked quickly over to the elevator, opening it. As soon as the door closed, I took a deep breath.

"STOP IT!" I yelled into my microphone. I was greeted by a pleasant silence on the other end. "Need I remind you we're on a mission here?"

"No."

"Could you guys please stop fighting so Riley can turn off the security cameras?" I asked nicely.

"Oh, I forgot. It's hard to concentrate with Nicole running her mouth."

"_I'm_ the one running my mouth?"

"Guys…" I warned. The silence returned, and Ben smiled at me.

"Nicely done."

I nodded. "Any time."

"I'm turning off the security cameras….now. Kathleen, Ben, you are clear for takeoff." Riley said proudly. The door opened, and Ben and I stood at the door to the preservation room. Ben was about to grab his blacklight, when I suddenly pushed him out of the way.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked.

"I know her password." I said, my fingers flying over the keys. The door opened, and I grinned.

"How…" Ben began.

"No time to explain. I just saved us some time. Now let's get this show on the road." I walked in, beckoning Ben to follow.

"Hi Kathleen!" Nicole cried suddenly. I looked up at the security camera, rolling my eyes.

"Nicole, you're a dork." I said. She seemed mad, but at least she stayed quiet after that. Ben and I walked into the holding room, and pulled the blanket off the Declaration. Ben immediately began unscrewing the case.

"You guys are doing great." Riley said.

"Yeah. Is this your first federal crime, Ben?" Nicole asked.

"Yes." Ben answered, just undoing the second screw.

"You're a pro."

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment." Ben commented. I shrugged. You never know with Nicole.

"Ben, pick it up." Riley warned. I bit my lip. We were running put of time.

"Come on, faster!" I practically pleaded.

"I'm trying!" Ben responded.

"You got about one…" Riley paused.

"Oh no…" I had been hoping he wouldn't say that.

"What?" Ben asked.

"What's happening Riley? Where'd it go?" Nicole shrieked.

"I lost my feed. I lost my feed Ben! I have nothing. Ben, I have nothing. Get out of there. Get out of there now."

"Let's all just stay calm." I said, knowing Nicole was bound to freak out. She'd only seen this twice. "We're OK so far." I said that to comfort Ben and Riley.

Ben picked up the Declaration case. "I'm taking the whole thing."

"Good idea." I said.

"What?" Riley asked. "Is it heavy?" If I were in the van, I would have smacked him. But I heard flesh against flesh, and knew Nicole had done it for me.

"Ow!"

"You dolt! We have bigger problems than the weight of a document case!" Nicole shouted. Ben and I were approaching the elevator when I heard a door open at the end of the hall. I hit the button hurriedly, and then spun around.

"Crap!" I shouted. Some of Ian's henchguys pulled out guns and began firing. I hid behind Ben, and the bullet proof case. I grabbed my stinging arm. The elevator doors opened, and Ben and I scrambled in. The doors closed, separating us from the bad guys. I breathed a sigh of relief as Ben got down, continuing to unscrew the document case.

"What was that? Who's shooting?" Riley asked.

"What the freak?!?!" Nicole exclaimed. "Kathleen! Kathleen Michelle! Speak to me!"

"It's OK, Nikki calm down." I used her nickname to calm her. Ben looked up at me.

"You OK?" Ben asked. I was still clutching my arm.

"I…I…" I pulled my hand away, revealing a large wound. "I don't think so." Ben took the Declaration and carefully rolled it up before examining my arm.

"Did the bullet go in?" He sounded concerned.

"No, but by the looks of it, it came pretty darn close." I commented. Ben touched it, and I winced.

"We need to get out of here." He said. "We need to get that cleaned up. Until then, put on your jacket." I did as I was told. My arm was in extreme pain. We walked out of the elevator calmly. We ducked into the gift shop to take a shortcut when a store clerk saw the Declaration in Ben's jacket.

"Are you trying to steal that?" She asked. Ben seemed to panic a moment before seeing a display of fake Declarations. He shook his head no. "It's 35 dollars." The clerk explained.

Ben and I went up to the counter. "For this?" Ben asked. The secretary nodded. "That's a lot." Ben said.

The clerk shrugged. "I don't make the prices." Ben dug around in his pockets for change. I drummed my fingers on the counter until the clerk gave me a look. I smiled apologetically and stopped.

"32…." Ben counted the money. "57?" He looked up at the clerk, who sighed.

"We take Visa."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

As we walked out of the building, we could hear voices over the headsets.

"Where are you? Where are you B- OW! What was that for"

"You're annoying."

"You're obnoxious."

I rolled my eyes. "Start the van!" I shouted. My voice sounded kind of weak. I shook it off.

"Ben, the mean declaration lady is behind you guys!" Nicole shouted.

I was going to turn around when Ben shook his head slightly. "Don't look. We don't want to look suspicious."

"Good thinking." We walked up to the van, opening the double doors in the back.

"Hey." Dr. Chase called. Ben closed one of the doors. "I thought you two left."

"Oh, we were just chatting with some friends." I lied. My head ached slightly.

"Enjoy the party?" Ben asked.

"What's that?" Abigail asked, pointing to the paper in Ben's hand.

"Souvenir." Ben said nervously.

"Shut up and get in!" Nicole cried. I winced. Why did she always have to shout?

"Really?" Abigail asked. The alarm on the building however, proved otherwise. It blared, not helping my increasing headache. I swore under my breath

"Oh my god." I heard Riley say.

"Oh my god, you did not…. Give me that!" She took the paper from Ben's hand.

"Take it, it's yours!" Ben shouted. I was a bit confused. Had he had time to switch out the real one and the fake? I suddenly set off after Dr. Chase as I saw Ian's van in the corner of my eye. As soon as I grabbed the paper from her hands, strong arms grabbed my from behind. Oh crap, this isn't good.

**Yeah, that's chapter 9. I can't believe I'm writing chapters in such short chunks. This story will probably end up 20 chapters long, or more! **

**Anyway, the next chapter will be split in two. I'll explain later.**

**Review! **


	10. 10: What Were You Thinking?

**Seeing as tomorrow is debut of National Treasure: Book of Secrets, I hereby announce that Dec. 21****st**** is National Treasure. Yes, I have invented my own holiday. Feel free to celebrate it if you want. And those of you are going to see it, I hope you enjoy it! **

**OK, I promised some explaining. This chapter was originally going to split in two, but I decided not to at the last minute. 2 different POVs would be a hassle for me, so, I'll stick with Kathleen.**

**And from now on, I'll call Abigail…Abigail, instead of Dr. Chase.**

**As I've said many times before, own National Treasure I do not.**

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

_Kathleen_

I tried to struggle against the arms holding me back. This, however, was a bad idea, because my arm hurt really badly. One of Ian's henchguys picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder as the other ones were shooting. I saw Abigail scrambling across the street and getting in Ben's van. Ian's lackey put me down in the van, and they shut the door, the van taking off. I was feeling a little lightheaded, probably because of the blood loss. I clutched the fake Declaration tightly.

I guess my light headedness had caused me to become confused, thinking Abigail had the real one. I shook my head. Ian yanked me up from my sitting position, causing me to develop a serious case of vertigo. I steadied myself against the door of the van. The van took a sharp right turn, causing me to lose my balance again. Ian grabbed my arm, right where I'd been grazed by the bullet.

I let out a small exclamation of pain, my arm stinging because of his tight grip.

"Kindly pass me that document, Miss. Then we can all go home." He said, trying to sound polite. I shook my head. Ian's grip on my arm tightened. I let out another small scream. Did he get some kind of pleasure out of torturing me?

"What's the matter?" He asked, in a mocking tone. He pulled down my jacket, revealing the grazed arm. The area around it was a mix of purples and reds. I could feel myself shaking while I looked at it. Before Ian could say anything, we drove over a construction site, the bumps throwing pots and pans all around me. I clutched the counter for dear life, screaming the whole time. Seeing it on my TV was a whole lot different than actually experiencing it.

As we settled back onto a paved road, I leaned against the back of the door, my heart pounding in my chest. Then I heard something strange. Voices. It was then I realized: I'd never taken my headset off!

"Give me the document." Ian commanded.

"It's yours!" I acted quickly, shoving the paper in his hand. Then I spun around, opening the door and grabbing it as it swung open. As I swung around, I could see the shocked looks on all 4 of their faces. My plan was not necessarily a good one, though. I already had bad upper-arm strength, but my arm was killing me. I spoke into my microphone, knowing I didn't have much time before I got shot at.

"Ben! Someone!" I screamed! "Help me here!" I held onto the door for dear life, praying not to be shot. I heard the van door open next to me.

"Kathleen!" That was not Ben's voice, that much I knew.

"Riley!!!" I screamed out of panic. I'm not sure how, but amidst the bullets, I managed to grab a hold of Riley's hand.

"Jump!" He shouted. I did so, jumping into the van as Riley slammed the door shut. I was breathing hard out of fear, and could feel tears forming in my eyes. I was glad to be alive. How could I have been so stupid?!?! I swallowed, wiping my eyes. Riley looked down at me, his concern reflecting in his eyes and his voice.

I'm not sure if my next action was out of happiness, or fear, or what. I grabbed Riley, pulling him into a heated kiss. I pulled away, blushing crimson.

"That's twice you've saved my life, isn't it?" I asked. He grinned.

"Yeah."

"What the heck was that?!?!" Nicole asked. I realized Ben was staring at us. Nicole sat at the wheel. She must not have been pleased with Riley's driving skills.

"What do you think it was?" I asked. I realized my voice was shaking, along with the rest of me.

"Are you OK?" Riley asked. I shook my head.

"N-No." I pulled down my jacket, showing him my graze. His mouth opened in surprise and shock.

"That's not good. At all." He observed the graze closely.

"What happened to the Declaration?" Abigail asked.

"We've gone over this already!" Nicole sighed. While the others alked in the front of the van about the Declaration, Riley pulled me to the back, grabbing a first aid kit.

"What the heck was going through your mind, Kathleen?" Riley asked, pulling out a small bottle of rubbing alcohol. He poured some onto a cloth. "Careful, this might sting."

As Riley pressed the cloth against my wound, I winced, pulling back my arm a bit.

"Sorry." Riley muttered.

"I don't know. It was the only way I could get away from Ian." I explained. Riley began bandaging my arm.

"Kathleen, you could've gotten killed!" Riley exclaimed as he tied up the bandage.

"I know, I know." I paused. "Do you…Do you really care about me that much? That you were scared for me?" I asked softly. He looked up, his stunning blue eyes meeting my brown ones.

"Of course. I don't know why, but I… I was scared to death." Riley admitted. I smiled weakly at him, kissing his cheek softly.

"Thank you. For everything."

"Any time."

From the front of the van, I heard Ben and Abigail talking.

"We need those letters."

"What letters?"

"Get off the road, take a right."

"What letters?!"

**So, that was chapter 10! Like I said, those of you who are going to see Book of Secrets, enjoy!**

**You all know the drill!**


	11. 11: Pacing a Hole in the Ground

**You know what? I wrote this chapter, and then I forgot to save it. So this is the second time it's been written. . **

**I went to Book of Secrets, it was totally awesome!!! I recommend that those of you can see it do so. I feel so bad for those of you who can't see it yet. If anyone can't see it for some reason or another, I'd be glad to tell you anything you'd like to know.**

**Ok, here's Chapter 11 **

**Own National Treasure or its sequel or characters I do not.**

Getting off the road, we pulled into a wooded area. The moonlight reflected off the water across from us, the wind rustling through the trees in the silence. The 5 of us were scattered around. Ben had immediately gotten out of the van and began to pace, lost in thought. Nicole sat in the driver's seat, and Abigail in the passenger's seat with the door open, her legs hanging off the side. I sat on the edge of the open back door, and Riley was cleaning up everything that had fallen during the car chase.

I shivered a little, figuring my jacket was still in the catering van. Since it was only March, I was a little chilly. I heard Riley crawl up next to me, and he moved to wrap his coat around me. I shook my head politely, but he put it on me anyway.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's cold out here."

I smiled thankfully as he sat down next to me. I cuddled closer to him, laying my head on his shoulder and closing my eyes. I inhaled the scent of his cologne. He put on cologne? It's amazing what you miss out on when all you can do is watch what's happening. Everything stayed silent a moment before Abigail spoke up.

"You have the original Silence Dogood letters? You steal those too?"

"They're scans of the originals. Quiet please." Ben answered, as he continued pacing back and forth. I felt Riley's arm around my waist. I kept my eyes closed, exhausted.

"How'd you get scans?" Abigail continued.

"I know the person who has the originals. Now **shush**." I could tell Ben was losing his patience with this woman.

"Why do you need them?"

"Would you just shut the heck up! For god's sakes, the man's trying to think!" Nicole exploded from the front seat. I had to stifle a giggle.

"Yes, please. I will let you hold onto this…" Ben handed Abigail the Declaration case. "If you promise to _shut up._ Thank you." Ben sighed.

"Ben," Riley said softly. "You know what you have to do."

"I know what I have to do, I'm just trying to think of anything else we could do." Ben explained.

"And you really think that pacing a hole in the ground will help you solve your problems?" Nicole asked. Ben stopped, leaning against a tree.

"Not to be a… _nudge, _but you do realize how many people we have after us." Riley pointed out. "We probably have our own satellite by now, Ben."

"Cool!" Nicole exclaimed, I opened my eyes, turning around and giving her a look. "What?" She shrugged. I shook my head and sighed before laying my head back on Riley's shoulder.

"Ben. Listen to reason. It took you all of 2 seconds to decide that you were going to steal the Declaration of Independence!"

"I know, but I didn't think I was going to have to personally tell my dad about it!" Ben said. Abigail suddenly sprung up from where she sat, taking off. "Hey, not cool, not cool!" Ben cried, running after her.

As the two of them struggled, I looked up at Riley.

"Hey." I smiled softly.

"Hey." He smiled back. I looked into those bright blue eyes, just staring at him. I kissed his cheek lightly before sitting up a little, pulling the coat tighter around me.

"What was that for?" He asked.

"I don't know." I answered truthfully.

"Get a room, why don't you! You make me sick! When did you guys even hook up, anyways?" Nicole asked.

"Just ignore her." Riley whispered. "Maybe she'll go away."

I laughed. Ben and Abigail were now barely inches apart.

"Look," Abigail pointed out. "If you wanted to leave me behind, you shouldn't have told me where you were going."

Ben fumbled for words, not saying anything. I laughed as Riley groaned and fell back into the van in defeat.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

About half an hour later, we arrived at the home of Patrick Gates. It was a pretty nice place. Pretty big too. We stopped on the street in front of the house.

"It looks OK." Riley observed.

"Nicole, park a couple blocks away." Ben commanded.

"Yes sir, Mr. Ben sir." Nicole mumbled under her breath.

"How long do you think we got?" Riley asked.

"A few hours, at least. I hope." Ben untied his bow tie. We parked a couple blocks away as instructed. I grabbed a sack of street clothes I'd brought since I wanted to get out of my dress.

Ben finally rang the doorbell. His father opened it, looking a bit surprised, but somewhat amused.

"Dad." Ben greeted.

"Where's the party?" His father asked.

"Um… Dad, I'm in a little trouble." Ben said slowly. Patrick looked at Abigail.

"Is she pregnant?" He paused, looking at me and Nicole. "And what about them? Are they…..

I could hear Nicole making gagging noises. I squeezed my eyes shut and covered my mouth, suppressing the urge to vomit right there. I could feel Riley's arm tighten instinctively around me. Abigail's eyes were wide, and she covered her mouth in shock.

"No!" Ben shouted. "No Dad! It's not like that AT ALL!" He shook his head rapidly. "We just need something. We won't be long."

"Alright." Patrick sighed. He stepped aside, letting us in.

"Make yourselves comfortable. There's some pizza, still…"

"PIZZA!" Nicole dove for the coffee table, grabbing a slice. I shook my head, heading upstairs to find a place to change.

As I put on my T-shirt and jeans, I wondered what Ben could have possibly done to make his father think that. Had it happened before? I made a mental note to ask him later. I had three months, after all.

As I came downstairs, I heard Abigail.

"He's probably right. You don't even know if there is another clue."

"I can think of a way we can find out. And we can finds out right now."

I grinned to myself as I made my way downstairs. _Showtime._

**I hope you liked.**

**You guys know what I want.**


	12. 12: The Map

We began preparing to test the Declaration. We grabbed assorted things such as some cups and a bowl of lemons. I decided to save the trouble of a later trip and got the hairdryer. When I brought it down, everyone but Nicole looked at me quizzically.

"A hairdryer?" Ben said it as more of a question than a statement.

"Some inks need to be brought out with heat." I told him. He shrugged as I brought the hairdryer in and sat at the table opposite from Riley.

"Looks like animal skin. How old is it?" Ben's father asked as walked around the house picking up dishes.

"Around 220 years, give or take." I answered.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Pretty sure." I sighed. I looked up at Riley. He looked so cute with those glasses on….Sorry. Back to the story

"So, if this thing's in invisible ink, how do we look at it?" Riley asked.

"Throw it in the oven." Patrick suggested.

"No!" We all cried simultaneously.

"Higher sulfate inks can only be brought out with heat." He told us. Nicole held up the hairdryer.

"Already got it covered."

"It's really late, Dad. Why don't you get some rest?" Ben suggested.

"I'm fine." Patrick called from the other room.

"Lemons." Ben murmured. Abigail handed him the bowl and he picked up a slice.

"Why does your dad have a bowl of lemon slices in his fridge? Does he throw lemon parties?" Nicole asked. Riley and I exchanged looks of annoyance and amusement. Ben ignored Nicole's comment completely.

"Wait, you can't do that." Abigail had grabbed Ben by the wrist.

"I sense some tension." I whispered. Nicole nodded.

"But it has to be done." Ben protested.

"Then someone who is trained to handle antique documents is gonna do it." Abigail said.

"OK." Ben handed Abigail the lemon. I rolled my eyes. Abigail got on my nerves sometimes. She began talking, though it seemed a lot like she was talking to herself, so I didn't pay much attention. Nothing appeared when Abigail tried with the lemon juice.

"I told you guys! You need heat for certain invisible inks!" I exclaimed. Ben sighed. He and Abigail glanced at each other, looking almost nervous. They leaned forward slowly, and exhaled on the paper. We all leaned forward to get a better look.

A small Masonic square and compass appeared in the corner. The mood in the room seemed to brighten immediately.

"We need more lemons." Ben said. I grinned.

"Told you."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

After we had gathered some more lemons, I was picked to write down the numbers that we found. Since Riley was sitting across from me, he looked at me a lot. So I decided to have some fun with him. The top I was wearing was a little low cut, so I leaned forward while I was writing, just to see if he was paying attention.

Nicole wandered over to him while I was writing.

"What are you looking at?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing, Kathleen just has nice…er….handwriting." He stammered. "Very nice."

I finished writing down the numbers and looked up.

"Why thank you Riley. I'm glad you noticed my _handwriting_." I grinned. I couldn't help but notice his face was rather red after I said this.

"It's an Ottendorf cipher." Abigail said, switching off the hairdryer.

"Ok." Riley paused. "What's an Ottendorf cipher?"

"It's some kind of code. It has something to do with some kind of random text, right?" I asked.

"Right. In this case, the Silence Dogood letters." Ben explained. "Dad, can we have the letters now?"

"I don't have them." Ben's father explained simply. Everyone's mood seemed to sink with these four words.

"What?" Ben asked, a twinge of disappointment lacing his voice.

"I don't have them." Patrick repeated. Ben let out a sigh, sitting down in a chair. He pulled his glove off with his teeth, going for the middle finger first. I couldn't help but wonder if this was on purpose, and it seemed like Nicole was thinking along the same lines.

"Where are they?" Ben asked calmly.

"I donated them to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia." Patrick said.

"Time to go." Ben said, getting up from his chair and grabbing his jacket.

"What? Already?" Nicole whined. "We just got here."

"I can't believe, after all this time, no one knew what was on the back." Abigail said softly.

"On the back of what?" Ben's dad asked, moving forward.

"No!" Everyone cried at once. I winced.

"Oh my god. Oh my god." Patrick said, shaking as he held the Declaration. "This is- This is Declaration of Independence!"

"This we know." I said.

"And it's very delicate." Abigail said gently, carefully taking the Declaration from him.

"You stole it." Patrick said accusingly.

"No, that was Ben." Nicole said. "I just sat in the get-away van."

"Look, I can explain, but I don't have time. And you saw the cipher…" Ben began.

"And that will lead to another clue, and that lead to another clue. I wasted twenty years of my life…" Patrick rambled on, but I didn't pay much attention, as usual. I guess rambling runs in the family.

"Well, we can't have that." Ben said seriously. I could see Nicole's eyes light up.

"Can I? Can I?" She asked excitedly. Ben nodded, and she ran out of the room. I knew that whatever was going on with her, it involved duct tape.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

We had finally all piled into Patrick's very cramped car, on our way to Philadelphia. Nicole decided to sleep on the floor of the backseat, and was already snoring softly. Riley lay on the back seat, and I was in front of him. I snuggled closer against him. His body was warm next to mine, his arm around my waist already. I liked it.

"Your dad's got a sweet ride." Riley murmured, his eyes closed.

"Mhm." I agreed.

"I think we ought to change clothes." Ben said to Abigail. "We look kind of conspicuous, don't you think?"

"I'd like to go shopping too but we have no money." Riley said, his eyes still closed. I heard Ben say something about a couple hundred dollars in between some pages, but wasn't really listening. I didn't hear much of anything else as I slowly began to doze off.

**Sorry it's taking me so long to get chapters done! I really am! I promise the next chapter will be super long!!!!**


	13. 13: Philadelphia Part I

**This chapter's going to be a little complicated. It'll be split into two parts. and still be really long.**

**OK, here's that super-long chapter I promised you guys! And it is really_ super_ long!**

**This chapter (along with part 2) is dedicated to my bestest friend ever, ksloan9142. It's her birthday on Tuesday. YAY!**

**As you may have figured, I don't own National Treasure.**

**WARNING: Do not read unless you have lots of time.**

**TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT**

The morning sun broke through the trees, painting everything in a soft golden light. Morning was beginning in Philadelphia. Cars passed by and people walked down the street, on their way to their jobs. I woke up, but didn't want to open my eyes. I was comfortable, Riley's arm surrounding my waist, almost protectively. I heard snoring from the front seat. I assumed it was Ben. He seemed like the snoring type.

I finally opened my eyes. Everyone else was still sleeping. I didn't see a way I could get up without waking up anyone else. I let out a little sigh, deciding to wait until someone else woke up.

Finally, Riley woke up. He looked at me, and I gave him a soft smile. I motioned towards the door, and he nodded. I took a napkin we'd gotten in our fast food dinner yesterday and a pen, quickly scribbling a note and throwing it onto the seat while everyone else slept soundly, telling them we'd gone to the Franklin Institute.

Riley and I got out of the car, walking into a nearby coffee shop. We ordered some coffee and cinnamon rolls before heading towards the museum.

"You don't come off as an early riser to me." I said, taking a bite of my roll as we walked.

"Neither do you." He countered with a grin.

"Touché."

We walked the rest of the way, talking about random things. Finally we arrived at the Franklin Institute.

"I don't think it's safe for us to go in." I pointed out. "Someone might recognize us."

"Good point." Riley agreed. We sat down on a bench, thinking. As a small boy passed by, Riley suddenly sprang up. He approached the kid, and they talked. I watched as he pulled a piece of paper and some post-it's from his pocket. After writing some stuff down, Riley gave the kid a dollar and one of the post it's. The kid grinned and ran across the street.

"See, I can do things." Riley grinned.

"How can you be sure he'll come back?" I asked.

"I promised him a dollar for every time he went." Riley said, continuing to grin.

I shook my head to myself. "Don't people teach kids not to talk to strangers?"

"I don't know." Riley paused. "I've been thinking…"

"Oh no." I smiled coyly.

"Funny." He said sarcastically. "Anyway, what you said before. When you were explaining how you got here. Is it true?"

That was what I'd been afraid he would ask. I licked my lips and took a deep breath.. "Yes."

"So, you mean, this is all…. made up?" Riley sounded a little hurt. "None of this is real."

"It's just really hard to explain. Look, I don't know how I got here. It just… happened." I paused, putting on a small smile. "Not that I'm complaining. I mean you're…"

Brown eyes suddenly locked with radiant blue ones as my voice trailed off. We both leaned forward, our lips touching. I reached up, wrapping my arms around his neck as the kiss became deeper. His arms wrapped around my waist as our jaws moved with the kiss. I could feel his tongue trace my bottom lip, and it began to seem familiar.

Taking a chance, I opened my mouth, allowing Riley to make his move. I could feel him smile in the kiss. Then I heard something I hadn't expected.

"Oh, that's gross!!!!" The boy who we'd sent to get the letters had apparently returned. We broke apart, breathing heavily, the kiss still burning on our lips. My face was bright red, and Riley's glasses were slightly crooked. I gave the boy an embarrassed smile.

"Hi."

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

"S, S, A, N, D."

We were almost finished with the message in the Silence Dogood letters. Only 4 letters were left, and I was glad. It had been almost two hours. At least Riley was there, or by then I'd have died of boredom. He copied down the letters the kid had recited onto an old newspaper.

"You're sure this is right?" Riley asked. The kid gave him a look, and I had to stifle a giggle.

"No N!" The kid said as Riley wrote down the letters.

"That is an N." Riley sighed.

"It doesn't look like an N." The kid argued.

"He's right. It looks like an R." I pointed out. Riley glared at me, and I gave him a cheeky grin. He reached into his pocket.

"One more dollar." He handed it to the boy. "Go get the last four letters."

Riley shook his head as the kid crossed the street again.

"Why did you have to help him?" He asked as he copied down the letters.

"Just because you're cute when you're mad." I grinned, giving him a peck on the lips. "So, what does it say?" I asked, even though I knew exactly what it said.

"'The vision to see the treasured past comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the house of pass and…'" His voice trailed off. "That's it. We need the last four letters.

"Pass and…. Pass and what?" I wondered aloud. "A four-letter word…" I sat there, pretending to think. A bus pulled up in front of us.

"Wait, what does that say?" I pointed to the picture of the Liberty Bell on the bus. Riley leaned forward to get a better look. His face suddenly brightened

"Kathleen you're a genius!" He exclaimed, jumping up. I grinned.

"I know. Let me just ask you one thing." I said playfully, making him look intrigued. I walked up to him, close enough to feel his warm breath on my face.

"What's that?"

"Do you think you can…" I paused, suddenly jumping up onto the bench and over the wall, turning around to look at him again.. "..catch me?"

A grin formed on his lips. "I believe I can."

I suddenly bolted towards the other side of the park, laughing as I left him far behind me.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

We walked into Urban Outfitters, both out of breath from running through the park.

"You run fast." He remarked.

"I know." I grinned.

We went up to meet Ben, Abigail, and Nicole. As soon as we reached there, Nicole appeared.

"Oh thank god!" She exclaimed. "I was dying of boredom! Abigail and Ben have been flirting. It's disgusting." She made a face. Riley and I laughed.

"Guys? You got it?" I heard Ben ask. He and Abigail stood by the counter, ready to pay.

"Oh, we got it." Riley read them the clue. "And Pass and stow of course referring to…."

"The Liberty Bell." Everyone else said simultaneously. Riley looked disappointed.

"Why do you have to do that?"

"Well John Pass and John Stow cast the bell." Abigail explained.

"Really? Fascinating." Nicole said sarcastically. I elbowed her.

"What does the rest of this mean?" Riley asked.

"Well, 'the vision to see the treasured past' must refer to a way to read the map." Ben said.

"I thought the cipher was the map." Riley interjected.

"No, the cipher was the way to find the way to read the map." Ben shook his head.

"What did you just say?" Nicole asked, confused. I groaned, covering my face in my hands.

"Don't think too hard about it Nicole. You might hurt yourself." I rolled my eyes.

"The way to read the map comes as the timely shadow crosses in front of the Liberty Bell." Abigail deciphered, the mood seeming to brighten.

"Crosses in front of the house of the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall." Ben explained.

"Timely shadow… Does that mean a specific time?" I asked.

"What time?" Riley added.

"What time…" Ben repeated to himself. He suddenly turned to Abigail. "Wait, you're going to love this." A smile crept onto his face. He walked up to the counter. "Excuse me, can I see one of those hundred dollar bills I paid you with."

The woman at the counter looked up. "No."

"Oh." Ben said flatly. "Well, I have this diver's watch, it's called a Submariner, I dive with it, it's actually quite valuable. You can use it as a collateral." Ben undid his watch, holding it out for her to take.

"Whatever." She took the watch, rolling her eyes. I had a feeling she didn't really like her job.

"One the back of a hundred dollar bill is an etching of Independence Hall," Ben began to explain to Abigail. "done in the 1780's and the artist was actually a friend of Benjamin Franklin's! It's wonderful!" He sounded a bit excited and geeky at this point. The girl held out the hundred dollar bill for him.

"Fascinating."

"Funny. She doesn't sound fascinated." Nicole commented.

Ben picked up a water bottle. "Now if we look at this clock tower, we may find the specific time."

As Ben inspected the hundred dollar bill, I absentmindedly drummed my fingers on the counter. I had to face it. This part was boring.

"2:22. What time is it now?" Ben asked.

"Almost 3." The clerk answered, looking at Ben's fancy diving watch. I pondered over how someone who spent a lot of time and money treasure-hunting could afford a fancy watch like that. I pulled myself away from my thoughts just in time for…

"No we didn't. We didn't miss it because…" Riley's voice trailed of, as he looked to the other 2 to finish the sentence. "Wait, you don't know this? I know something about history you don't know."

"We'd very excited to learn about it, Riley." Ben sighed.

"Just…Just let me take in this moment. This is… cool. Is this how you feel all the time? Well except for now of course…"

Abigail opened her mouth to interrupt, but I nudged her, then shook my head.

"…Because I know it and you don't. Amazing. This is just…Wow." Riley was grinning by now.

"Congratulations. I'm proud of you." I smiled, walking up to him, and giving him a small kiss. "Now what is it that you know?"

"What I know is that Daylight Savings wasn't established until World War 1. If it's 3 PM now, then in 1776, it would be 2 PM."

"Riley, you're a genius." Ben's demeanor seemed to brighten again. We all walked away from the counter.

"Do you know who the first person to suggest Daylight Savings Time was?" Riley asked.

"Benjamin Franklin." We all chorused. He stomped his foot in disappointment. I grinned up at him, giving him another kiss on the cheek before walking ahead of him.

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

We walked down the street towards Independence Hall, Nicole and I bringing up the rear.

"What's with all the PDA?" She whispered. I simply smiled, shrugging.

"You're just jealous because I got the guy."

"No I'm not."

"You totally are."

"Don't make me kick you."

I grinned, throwing my arm over her shoulder. "You're jealous of all the time I've been spending with Riley, aren't you? Feeling a bit left out?"

"Maybe." Nicole looked away, not looking me in the eye

"Sorry Nikki, but I see you all the time. How much time do I get with Riley?"

"Three months."

"Not exactly. Three months pass by here, but It's only 2 hours in real life. It's complicated." I answered smugly

"I hate you."

"You know you love me." I grinned. I released her as we neared Independence Hall. The large brick structure sent chills down my spine. It was almost like walking into history as we tagged along the back of a tour.

We finally detached ourselves from the boring tour guide. (Though it looked like Abigail and Ben were interested. Go figure.) We climbed the stairs and went up into the bell tower.

"What bell is this?" Riley asked, looking up as he climbed up into the tower.

"The Centennial Bell, it replaced the Liberty Bell in 1876." Ben explained. I wandered around the circular tower, folding my arms and leaning over the edge, staring down. The voices of the people on the other side of the tower seemed to fade away. I stared at the cloudless blue sky, the breeze blowing a strand of loose hair into my face. I brushed it away, tucking it behind my ear again, lost in deep thought.

Why were Nicole and I here? How had we even gotten here in the first place? I wondered for a while before Riley tapped my shoulder, a small smile mixed with concern on his face.

"Hey." He said softly.

"Hey."

I turned, seeing the others had gone, once again leaving us alone.

"Something wrong?" He asked, helping me down the stairs out of the tower. I shook my head wordlessly. He looked me in the eye, his eyes breaking through my resistance. He knew how to get me to talk, that was for sure.

"I'm just…. wondering how I got here. I mean, I was just sitting down to watch this, and next thing I know, the TV goes to static and I'm face first in the snow." I said softly, making my way down the stairs. He didn't say anything. Then he finally sighed, pausing.

"Maybe you were just…supposed to?" He suggested. "Maybe we were supposed to find each other. Even if it meant crossing between worlds." I looked up from the floorboards.

"You really believe that?" A small smile formed on my face. He just nodded. The silence seemed to press down on us. I leaned forward, our lips barely touching. It only last a moment before we broke apart. What I heard next surprised me more than anything I'd ever heard in my life.

"I… I love you."

I froze, trying to comprehend the words he had just said. They echoed in my head, but it became harder to understand it every time.

"What?" I whispered the only word my lips seemed to be able to form.

"I love you, Kathleen."

I looked up. He _had_ said it. "R-Really? Y-You do?" I stammered.

"Yes." He nodded. I thought for a moment. I had always been taught to use those words only when I knew I really meant it. And right then and there, I knew.

"I love you too."

I reached up, wrapping my arms around his neck, smashing my lips against his. I leaned against the door that led out of the tower. I could feel his tongue wrestling with my own as the kiss grew heated extremely quickly. I jumped up, wrapping my legs around him. He pushed the strap of my tank top to the side of my arm, and I broke off, breathing heavily.

"Not here. Not now." I breathed. "Later. We'll have time. Plenty of time. They're probably wondering where we are." I slowly pulled myself off of him.

He nodded. "Right. Sorry."

"It's fine." I said softly. I opened the door to the staircase, making my way down.

When we reached the signing room, Nicole pounced.

"Where have you been? I was worried! I was…." Nicole ranted.

"We were just…. talking." I said, feeling my cheeks grow warm as Riley and I looked at each other.

"About…."

I was saved by Ben entering the signing room and pulling the glasses from his coat. "Look at this. Some kind of ocular device. The vision to see the treasured past?" He smiled. Riley took them from Ben.

"They're like early American X-ray specs." He commented. I rolled my eyes.

"Don't get any ideas, mister." I smacked his arm playfully. He rubbed his arm, and Abigail took the glasses from him.

"I think Benjamin Franklin invented something like these."

"Wow." Nicole said sarcastically. "He also invented lightning rods and stoves, but that's not important right now, it?" I rolled my eyes. I wondered why she always had to get the last sarcastic word in.

Ben walked over, holding the Declaration, and we unrolled it. AS we unrolled the part with the signatures, Ben took a deep breath.

"What?" Riley asked, looking up.

"It's just that… The last time this was here, it was being signed." Ben said, sounding awed. Everyone thought about it for a moment.

"Now that that wonderful sentimental moment is over, why don't we get this show on the road before we get caught?" Nicole said. We turned the Declaration over., and Ben put on the glasses. He drew a sharp breath.

"What do you see?" Abigail asked.

"'Heere at the Wall', spelled with 2 E's, take a look." He handed Abigail the glasses.

"Wow." She commented.

"Uh, guys? We got trouble." I said, looking out the window. Riley moved towards the window, looking out.

"How'd they find us?" He asked.

"Ian has nearly unlimited resources. And he's smart." Ben said as he rolled up the Declaration.

"There's no way we can get out of here without them seeing us." I commented.

"You'e right. That's why we're separating the lock from the key. We're splitting up."

"Good plan." I commented.

"Riley, Abigail, Kathleen, you three go together and take that." He handed Abigail the Declaration tube. "Nicole and I will take the glasses, and the case. Meet me at the car, and call me of there are any problems."

"Wait, are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked, imagining everything that happened to Ben, realizing it would all happen to Nicole too. I just had to pray she wouldn't be hurt.

"Yes. Take care of her." Ben said, looking at me.

"I will." Riley and Abigail chorused. I looked up at Nicole.

"Be careful." I whispered.

"You too." She whispered back, leaving with Ben. I sighed. For the first time since 8th grade, we were splitting up.

**-panting- That took a while, didn't it? I'm glad you survived it! Review? There's a cookie in it for you, just for surviving this chapter!**


	14. 14: Philadelphia Part II

Sorry I've been taking soooo long to write this chapter

**Sorry I've been taking **_**soooo**_** long to write this chapter. I had a bad case of writer's block, but you guys are pests. Don't worry, that's a good thing! If you weren't I probably wouldn't be updating. **

**This chapter is actually from Nicole's POV, because I've never written about what happens with Ben during the chase. I wanted to try it out.**

**Here's the update!**

Why, oh why, did I have to get stuck with Ben? I just _had _to get stuck with the guy who has the receding hairline. Why couldn't I get stuck with the German and the geek? At least Kathleen would have been there.

I followed Ben down the street, Ian's henchmen only a couple yards behind.

"Shouldn't we be running?" I asked. He just shook his head.

"Just wait for it." He said quietly. He was making me nervous. He was way too calm for someone being chased by an insane posse of henchmen. We crossed a street and he suddenly bolted.

"Wait!" I shouted, hopefully not too loudly. He had really long legs, which was an advantage I suppose. I struggled to keep up beside him, but I started catching up. It seems those three years of track in junior high were actually good for something! I could hear the henchmen catching up.

"Faster!" I screamed, running ahead of him.

"I'm trying!" He shouted back. I almost laughed a little when he said this.

"Come on, old man!" I teased. He gave me a look, and started running faster to catch up with me. We turned a corner and ran into a cemetery. It was kind of strange that there was a really old cemetery in the middle of a city, but I didn't care at that moment.

"Gates!" The henchman who was following us shouted.

"Good idea!" I quickly slammed the gate shut and dove behind some old tombstones as the henchman whipped out a gun. Ben put his hand in his mouth, and it was obvious that he had hurt himself. I almost felt bad for a moment, but then we were being shot at again. We ran out the gate and ducked around the corner. When Ian's lackey followed us, Ben whacked him in the face with the empty tube. I decided to kick him where the sun don't shine, just for good measure. Ben paused for a second then the other henchman ran around the cemetery.

"Aw come _on_!" Ben exclaimed, putting the tube back over his shoulder.

"Don't those guys ever give up?" I asked, running beside him.

"Apparently not." Ben remarked.

We ran down the street, and a strange thought suddenly occurred to me.

"Why don't people notice us being chased by a strange man with a gun?"

"That's a damn good question." Ben muttered to himself as we ran up to a gate. He tried to open it, but it was locked. The guy on the other side stared.

"Hey buddy, who are you staring at?" I shouted as we ran over to the next gate and swung it open. Ben jumped up on the scaffolding. I looked at it nervously, but stopped myself from showing it.

"Are you crazy?!" I exclaimed. "I'm not going up there!" I had suffered from a mild fear of heights since I was a little girl. I fell through the bleachers at a basketball game and nearly broke my leg. This scaffolding did not look any better.

But I heard Ian's lackey coming so I jumped up on it anyway and climbed up after Ben. I heard gunshots around us and I let out a scream.

I pulled myself up onto the roof of the buildings and followed Ben across, my heart pounding the whole time. It felt harder to breathe and I recognized the feeling.

_Crap. I'm having an asthma attack. And I didn't bring my inhaler!_

"Ben." I gasped.

"What's the matter?" He looked a little concerned. He was suddenly acting like a father figure, and it was kind of annoying. Why did he have to be so protective?

"Forget it." I said abruptly.

"Gates!" I heard the henchman on the other side of the building. "Enough! Give me the document."

Ben nodded. "Alright Phil." I snickered.

"Phil." I muttered to myself. Ben tossed the empty case at Phil and slid down onto the scaffolding on the other side in one smooth motion. I went down after him, leaning against the brick.

"You OK?" Ben asked again. This time there's real concern in his eyes. I sit down on the steps of the scaffolding, taking deep breaths.

"Yeah." I said slowly. "Let's get to the car."

If only I remembered what events lay ahead.

We walked around the corner towards the car. My breathing was back to normal and everything seemed to be looking up. Then a man in a neat suit came out of a building, saluting us. My memory suddenly came back. The FBI was here to arrest us.

"Hello Mr. Gates." The FBI man greeted. Other agents began swarming around us.

"Mr. Gates, please face your father's car and put your hands behind your back." Ben did as he was told, and I stood there confused.

An agent grabbed my arm. "You too, ma'am."

I saw Riley, Abigail, and Kathleen come around the corner, and then turn around. The agents handcuffed us and shoved us in the car.

Looks like my question has been answered. This day can, in fact, get worse.

**You guys probably deserve a longer chapter, but that's all I could come up with. Don't worry, the next chapter will come out much sooner!**

**Review? Please?**


	15. 15: Ian Says Hi

2 updates in one day

**Another update! YAY!**

**Back to Kathleen's POV in the beginning, then some with Nicole.**

I sat next to Riley in the park, thinking about our next move. Riley sat on a bench, his face buried in his hands, and I thought for a minute he was going to cry. I rubbed his back soothingly while Abigail paced behind us, obviously in deep thought.

"They'll be ok." I whispered in Riley's ear. "They're with the FBI, no one can hurt them."

"Them being with the FBI is exactly the problem! Ian has the Declaration of Independence, and we have no way to get it back if Ben's not here." Riley sounded frustrated. I had never realized until that moment how much Riley needed Ben. I kissed his cheek gently, putting my arm around him.

"You miss him don't you?" I said softly. Riley nodded. He looked so sweet and adorable as he sat there staring at the fountain. I heard Abigail's footsteps stop abruptly.

"Riley, do you know how to get in touch with Ian?"

I feigned shock as Riley turned around. My spoke simultaneously.

"Excuse me?"

Sadusky set down his coffee mug on the table, giving us a small smile.

"That's some story."

"It's the same exact thing we tried to tell you people!" I exclaimed in frustration. "Before the Declaration was stolen!"

"By you." Sadusky pointed out.

"No." I pointed my thumb towards Ben. "Him."

"I stole it to stop Ian. I did it alone, Dr. Chase was not involved. Miss Matthews and Miss Langdon were not originally involved either. Either way, Ian still ended up with the Declaration."

"Because of you." Sadusky pointed out. Ben sighed, sinking low into the seat. I twiddled my thumbs nervously.

"Now here are your options, Mr. Gates. Door number 1, you go to prison for a very long time. Door number 2, we are going to get back the Declaration of Independence. You're going to help us find, and you still go to prison for a very long time, but you feel better inside."

"Isthere a door that _doesn't_ lead to prison?" Ben asked. Sadusky chuckled.

"Somebody's got to go to prison, Ben."

I raised my hand. "I vote Ian."

"What about her? Does she have to go to prison? She really had no part in this." Ben asked.

"We haven't reached that decision yet. We're not quite sure what to do with you." Sadusky said, looking at me.

I sighed, my shoulders drooping. I wanted out of there! I couldn't go to prison!

But then I remembered I wouldn't go to prison, since we were going to find the treasure and live happily ever after. That made me feel somewhat better.

Sadusky picked up the spectacles we'd found at Independence Hall. "So, what are these for?"

"It's a way to read the map."

"Right." Sadusky chuckled. "Knights Templar, Freemasons, invisible treasure map." It sounded like he found the situation we were in to be humorous. I wasn't sure why, because I sure as hell didn't think this was funny. "So, what did it say."

"Heere at the Wall. Nothing else. Just another clue." Ben sighed, clasping his handcuffed hands together. I leaned my head back, looking at the ceiling. It was plain and boring. Not like I was expecting anything else.

I heard Ben mumble something to himself, and then his cell phone rang. The agents played with their computers and unexpectedly handed the cell phone to me. I pressed it against my ear as best as I could with my hands chained to the desk.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Who's speaking?" Ian snapped.

"This is Nicole."

"Oh. Where's Ben?"

"He can't talk right now." I said, trying not to lose my temper.

"I see. Well, I might as well have you pass along a message for me." He actually sounded somewhat civil, surprisingly.

"And that would be…."

"I want to meet you two on the flight deck of the USS Intrepid. Do you know where that is?" He talked to me like I was a little kid. I looked up to Sadusky for a hint. He was mouthing New York.

"New York."

"Very good. I want you to come and meet at 10 tomorrow morning. Bring the glasses from Independence Hall. We can take a look at the Delcaration, and you pretty little girls can be on your way."

"Like I can believe that, especially coming from the man who tried to kill us!" I snapped.

"I told you I only wanted to borrow it. I'll give it back to you, and I might even include the pipe from the Charlotte as an added bonus."

I looked up at Sadusky who nodded to me. "We'll be there."

"And one last thing." Ian added. "Tell the FBI agents listening in on this call, if they want their precious Declaration back, and not just a box of confetti, you come alone."

Before I could respond, I heard the final click and the dial tone. I pulled the phone away from my ear, and smiled weakly at Ben.

"Ian says hi."

**So, what do you think? Click the purple button of joyness and tell me!!**


	16. 16: Uncomfortable Mornings

It's all from Kathleen's POV

**I finally updated! –cheers from readers-**

**I might just warn you guys now. There is some stuff that's implied in this chapter, and you should be able to figure out what it is in the first two paragraphs of the chapter. Just a warning.**

**Sorry for not updating recently, but my computer is having issues with FanFiction, as I said before. **

**Anyways, I won't keep you guys waiting any longer than you already have.**

**Here's Chapter 16! –more cheering-**

--

_**Kathleen**_

I stirred, my eyelids fluttering open. A small strip of sun light broke through the gap in curtains, creating a bright line on the white wall. A pounding headache seemed to rip through my headache. I attempted to raise my head from Riley's chest, but it hurt too badly. I strained to remember what had happened the night before.

Ignoring my aching head, I sat up and looked around. My clothes were strewn carelessly about the hotel room, and I realized that I had nothing but the sheets covering my bare body. I looked down and saw that a glass bottle of something had shattered on the wooden floor. I swore under my breath as the memory of the previous night rushed in, thankful Abigail had gotten a separate room. I rubbed my temple trying to ease my headache and think. I shook Riley, and he murmured something, and then rolled over. I shook him again, and he opened his eyes.

"Too…bright…" He groaned. "Headache."

"I know." I said softly. "What…What happened…. last night?" It took nearly all of my strength to force out the short words.

"We…." The color drained from his face. He looked around the room and muttered something to himself. There was a short pause as we both sat in silence. I finally spoke up, swallowing.

"I'm getting a shower." I murmured. He made some kind of noise as a response. "Don't look."

"Why?" He asked with a faint smile.

"No clothes." I said simply. I heard something that sounded like a laugh.

"Too late… for that." He said, attempting to grin at me. I sent him a look and he averted his eyes. Slowly, I pulled the covers up and attempted to stand. My head, however, did not appreciate this. I ignored it and walked over to a chair and carefully pulled a robe on and tied the rope around my waist.

"OK." I said softly. He didn't move, and I assumed he had fallen back asleep. I walked into the bathroom and flipped on the light, which seemed much brighter than usual. I winced and carefully untied my robe and turned the shower on. As I stepped in and let the warm water roll down my back, I suddenly pounded my hands against the wet tile and let out a small scream of frustration.

"I am so _stupid_!" I exclaimed to myself. I stood there for a moment, taking a deep breath as the water continued falling, and I hoped Nicole's morning was going better than mine.

--

_**Nicole**_

My eyelids fluttered open after a rather restless night. I sat up, suddenly remembering where I was: In a holding cell at the FBI building in New York. I sighed deeply and observed the place. It was a bit bigger than most cells, but that was because it made room for two people.

Then I heard a faint rumble coming from my stomach, and I remembered I hadn't eaten dinner. They'd given us some kind of stew and some cornbread and milk, but I'd been in such a bad mood that I didn't even touch the food. I laid back down on my cot, burying my face in pillow.

It is never much fun to wake up in any place resembling a prison cell, but it's even worse when your partner is snoring loudly and the noise is reverberating off the concrete walls. I decided to get up and wake up Ben. I walked over to him and shook him with all the strength I could muster. The snoring stopped, thank god, and his eyes opened.

"What?" He asked crossly.

"Your snoring is driving me nuts. And it's morning, in case you haven't noticed."

I said, indicating the sunshine pouring through our lovely barred window on the east wall.

"Did you know that you get kind of annoying?"

"Then you're lucky I'm a morning person!" I said, trying to sound chipper. He groaned.

"Great." Ben muttered. Then there was a pounding on our door, which swung open to reveal Sadusky.

"Time for breakfast, and then we're off on our mission." He said loudly.

Ben sighed a little. "I think he's a morning person too."

--

After a lovely breakfast of milk, underdone eggs, overdone bacon, and toast, we set out on our mission. I kept humming some secret spy music that I'd heard in a movie once, which annoyed everyone else in the car. One thing people don't realize, though, is that the more they're annoyed, the more I'm enjoying myself. So I hummed all the way to our destination.

When we finally reached the _Intrepid_, there were people everywhere. I put on my ear piece and little microphone and walked out with Ben.

"I hope your agents are all under four feet tall and wearing little scarves, or Ian's going to know they're here." Ben commented half jokingly.

"As soon as he shows you two the Declaration, we'll move in." Sadusky told us. "Don't try anything, just let us handle it."

"I do not like this idea at all." I announced quietly. What if he doesn't show up? What then?"

There was silence on the other end for a while. But then Ben spoke up, changing the subject.

"You know something I've noticed about fishing? It never works out so well for the bait." He said seriously.

"Are you with me?"

"Well, I suppose we are." I answered thoughtfully.

Ben paused a moment. "We're not against you if that's what you're asking."

Suddenly chaos began breaking out. The earpiece began to buzz loudly in my ear, nearly deafening me. I scrambled to pull it out. Then a helicopter came out of nowhere, blowing everything around on the deck.

"What the hell is going?" I shouted over the roar of the rotors. Then Shaw materialized out of the crowd.

"It took Thomas Edison 2000 tries to make a light bulb. Sound familiar?" He shouted at us. "Go to the observation deck behind the F-16. Now here's what you do. Jump over the ledge into the river. There will be a diver in the water waiting for you. He'll help you across to the other side of the river."

He'd spoken so fast I had barely understood what he said. Before he could say anything else, the helicopter turned away and Shaw disappeared again. I looked around, bewildered.

Then I suddenly realized what was going to happen and my heart sank. It looked like I would be jumping. I followed Ben over to the observation deck, oblivious to what was being said over the earpiece.

"Sadusky..." Ben sighed. "We're still not against you. But I think we just found door number 3. And we're taking it." With no warning, Ben flung himself over the railing. With the agents rushing at me, I had to make a quick decision.

Swallowing, I too jumped over the banister. I fell lower and lower, and took a deep breath. Then I hit the water.

The rush of cold and pain overwhelmed me, and my eyes snapped open. They burned as I looked around for Ben, panicking. Then a figure grabbed my arm. Too my relief it was Ben. Forgetting my obnoxious self for a moment, I clung to him. My lung started to burn when the diver found us. It took out the oxygen tube and offered some to us both.

I thankfully grabbed it after Ben had taken a breath, enjoying the sensation of pure oxygen in my lungs. Then I grabbed a hold of the propeller the diver had brought along and closed my eyes. A minute later we stopped, and Ben pulled me up to the surface. Taking a deep breath, I made my way over to the ladder.

"Hello." Shaw greeted warmly. "Welcome to New Jersey."

--

_**Kathleen**_

My headache was finally starting to wear off as we sat in a small cyber café just across from Trinity Church. It looked like Riley wasn't faring as well as I was, but he could still do his part, which was helpful.

I looked around. Abigail sat beside me, watching Riley work his computer magic. I meanwhile decided to grab my phone and call someone.

_1 ring_…_2 rings_…_3 rings_…

"Hello?" I heard a voice on the other end that was most definitely not Nicole's. It sounded like a male voice, with a British accent. One of Ian's cronies, I assumed.

"May I speak to Nicole, please?" I asked, my voice sounding sickeningly sweet. Whoever was on the other ended grunted, and then I heard a familiar voice.

"Tell me something."

"Nicole! You're OK!" I exclaimed, trying not to get too loud.

"Kathleen?" Nicole choked, sounding surprised to hear me.

"It's me. You two OK?"

"Fine I suppose. Still a little shaken from jumping into a mucky cold river, but I'll survive. How 'bout you?"

"We're all fine." I answered. I glanced at Riley, who looked back at me. A burst of heat suddenly rushed to my cheeks.

"OK, what happened?" Nicole pried. "There's something, I can tell."

Darn her and her best friend senses. "Look, we'll talk later." I said shortly.

"Fine. So, you're all working with Ian now?"

"It was Abby's idea." I shrugged. "I just went along with it."

There was a little pause, and then she spoke softly. "So you guys at the café?"

"Yeah." I affirmed.

"They're here." Riley announced to us. I glanced out the window and saw a black car pull up beside the church. I hung up the phone and looked at the others with a small smile.

"Looks like it's show-time, guys."

**I hope you guys liked the chapter, and I apologize again for not updating recently. My schedule's clearing up, so there'll be more updates coming.**

**Review for me please?**


	17. 17: The Tunnels

Kathleen

**A/N: I update! Yay! Unfortunately, I can't say this chapter has a pleasant end. There are swear words in here, but you will hopefully understand why they are used. **

**Anyway, here's Chapter 17!**

_**Kathleen**_

I stood up from my chair, peering out the window. For someone reason, my heart rate seemed to quicken. Then I saw a familiar head of brown hair emerge from the black car.

"Nikki!" The childish nickname broke from my lips before I could stop it. A few people stared at me, but I hardly noticed. I bolted out the door, ignoring Riley as he called after me. I didn't stop running until I got to the other side of the street and threw my arms around Nicole, who stumbled back in surprise.

"Alright then…" She said in her usual manner.

"Are you OK?" I asked, not letting her go.

"I'm fine, but I might get squished to death if you hug me any tighter."

I pulled away from her, smiling. "I'm just really glad to see you."

"I noticed." Nicole grinned back. "Where are Riley and Abigail?"

"Across the street." I said. Ian said something to two of his cronies who crossed the street to fetch Riley and Abby.

"So, what's the deal?" Nicole asked, giving me a stern look.

"What do you mean?" I asked, suddenly fascinated by the sidewalk.

Nicole put her hands on her hips. "You know very well what I mean! Something's off with you, and I'm going to find out what, even if it's the last thing I ever do."

My mouth opened and closed as I attempted to find words. I felt heat rising in my cheeks. Finally I leaned over and whispered in Nicole's ear. Her eyes grew wide.

"You did what?!" She exclaimed loudly, catching the attention of the many people passing by, as well as Ben and Ian. As Riley crossed the street I could see a type of anger in Nicole's eyes that I'd never seen before. "I am _so_ going to give that man a well-placed kick…" She muttered under her breath.

I looked up, and my eyes met with Riley's. The heat in my cheeks began to surge again.

"Trinity Church." I heard Ben sigh. "We have to go inside Trinity Church."

I swallowed and blinked before heading towards the large wooden doors of the church. I felt someone grab my arm and pull me to the side. I looked up and saw Riley's blue gaze fixed on me. He seemed to be looking for the right words before he finally spoke.

"Look, about last night… I…" His face was as red as mine felt.

"Riley…" I began, not sure how to continue. "I think….I think we should just leave that behind us, and not bring that up. There was nothing we could've done." I looked down at the ground silent for a moment. "And we have more important things to attend to."

"Right." He said softly. I headed for the door, but turned and kissed him softly before walking into the church. I slid into the pew beside Nicole, who was watching Ben and Ian, though she wasn't the least bit interested in their conversation. I saw Patrick sitting a few pews in front of us.

Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, Ben and Ian stopped talking and made their way downstairs, with everyone in tow.

"Ben, I'm so sorry…" Abigail began.

"None of this is your fault." Ben said reassuringly.

Everyone filed into the basement room and looked around.

"What are we looking for?" I asked.

"Parkington Lane." Ben called from across the room.

I paused, then walked straight towards where the tomb was. "Oh, here it…er, he…is, I called out, trying not to sound too sarcastic about it.

"That was fast." Ian remarked, sounding a bit suspicious.

"Hey, we have more eyes to look for it." Nicole shrugged.

Ben ran his fingers across the smooth stone and smiled. "Parkington Lane. He was a 3rd degree master Mason, of the Blue Light….HEY!" Ben jumped out of the way as one of Ian's idiots smashed the tomb open with a wrench.

"That's very disrespectful!" Nicole said, "It's not polite to disturb the dead!"

Everyone gathered around the tomb and pulled the coffin out. I was expecting the coffin bottom to fall out, but I still jumped when it happened. The smell of rotting flesh was nauseating.

"Careful no one steps in him." Shippen joked as they set the rest of the coffin down. We all leaned in to get a better look at the tunnel.

"I found the tunnel, Johnson! It's this way!" Nicole cried suddenly. Everyone but me stared at her. She shrugged. "What? I heard it in a movie once."

"Well," Riley sighed. "Who wants to go down the creepy tunnel inside the tomb first?" I could tell Nicole was attempting to stifle a giggle, as was I.

"Right. MacGregor, Victor, you stay here. And i8f anyone should come out without me…" Ian smirked. "Well, use your imagination."

I could tell Riley hoped those guys didn't have big imaginations by the expression on his face. I slid into the tunnel on my hands and knees, pawing my way through the darkness. I scraped my knee on something, but pulled myself out of the tunnel rather easily. I was rather disappointed when I realized that I had missed Ben and Abby's kiss. There was a musty, damp smell in the air. Ben lit a torch, revealing a large hole in the earth.

"It's the Abyss of Doom!" Nicole exclaimed. I elbowed her quickly to shush her. Ben dipped his torch into a giant chandelier, and the flames crackled to life. The entire chamber was suddenly lit up as Ben and Ian moved the chandelier into the middle of the pit.

"Wow." Riley breathed, standing beside me.

"How did a bunch of guys with hand tools build all this?" Shippen asked in amazement.

"Same way they built the pyramids, and the Great Wall of China." Ben replied.

Riley looked around in awe. "Yeah," He said softly. "The aliens helped them."

I giggled and smiled at Riley, who grinned back at me, though I could see his ears, turning pink.

"Alright, let's go. What're we waiting for?" Ian asked impatiently.

"I'm not going out on that thing." Patrick announced. "200 years of termite damage and rot…"

"Dad." Ben warned gently. "Do what he says."

Riley leaned against the rail, still staring out at the tunnel in awe. Suddenly he looked down and saw cockroaches crawling on his Converse. He kicked them off, and some other roaches moved onto his hands. He jumped back in surprise, dancing around to get them off. Meanwhile, Nicole and I were laughing very hard. He started down the stairs and shuddered violently. I patted him on the shoulder and followed him down the stairs.

Suddenly the cavern was shaken by an awful rumbling. I clutched Riley's hand until it stopped.

"Subway." Ian explained calmly. I suddenly braced myself, ready for the collapse. Ben nodded. I was tempted to shout out something, but I was too late. The platform collapsed beneath Shaw. "Oh god, Shaw!" Ian cried, watching his colleague fall helplessly into the deep pit below. Nobody said anything, paralyzed by fear. Then the platform began to collapse from under us. The next few moments became a blur. Riley, Abigail, and Nicole all jumped to another platform, and before I could do anything, I was on an elevator with Ben.

Suddenly my brain started working again. I swore under my breath.

"Ben, we need to-"

I was cut off by elevator suddenly plunging. I screamed at the top of my lungs. Then the rope broke. I screamed again as I fell down the platform, scrambling to grab onto something, anything. For a split second, my life flashed before my eyes.

But thankfully, Ben grabbed my hand in the nick of time. I dangled halfway off the platform, holding onto Ben's hand for dear life. Then another thought struck me. I glanced to my left.

"The Declaration." I said in a near whisper. Ben glanced down, his own eyes going wide with fear.

"Do you trust me?" He asked quickly.

"Uh huh." I nodded vigorously. We swung for a moment, then his hand released mine, And I fell again, only this time I hit the platform hard. I landed hard on my left arm, but managed to sit up.

"Oh no, Ben!" Abby cried in a panic as Ben struggled to stay onboard the platform. Then a rope appeared from above and Ben swung over to the platform, walking over to me.

"Kathleen, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I dropped you. I…I had to save the Declaration." Ben stammered.

"It's fine." I nodded. "I'm OK, really."

"Well I'd have dropped you, Ben. Just saying." Riley commented, making his down to the platform. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into a kiss, which I returned. I suppose a near-death experience can change one's outlook on things. I pulled away, gently touching his face and smiling.

"I love you." I mouthed to him softly.

"Love you too." He mouthed back.

"Ian." Ben says, sounding out of breath. "It's not worth it."

"Do you think any one of your lives is more valuable to me than Shaw's? We go on." Ian says stubbornly. Nicole and I roll our eyes, but we climb onto the elevator anyways. We descended deeper into the chasm, and finally reach the small circular room. We tied up the elevator and made our into the small room.

"So?" Shippen asked, his tone as impatient as Ian's. "Where's the treasure?"

"Well? Ian demanded.

"This is it? We came all this way for a dead end?" Riley asked incredulously. I gently touched his arm and shook my head.

Ben sighed. "Yes. The treasure's gone."

"Are you toying with me?" Ian demanded. "You'd better be."

"I'm not. It's been moved. This is the end." Ben said.

Ian motioned to Shippen. "OK. Let's go."

"What?" Nicole cried. "Where're you going?" Ian didn't reply, but the two evil men dashed out of the room, untying the elevator.

"Wait a minute!" Ben shouted. Ian ignored him, starting the elevator.

"You can't just leave us to rot down here!" I cried out.

Ian stopped the elevator and looked down at us. "Why not? I'll leave you all unless Ben tells me the next clue."

"There's not another clue!" Ben shouted in frustration.

"Ian, why don't you just come down here, and we can talk through this together!" Riley suggested.

Ian grabbed the gun from Shippen and aimed at Riley. "Don't speak again."

"Hey, you leave him alone!" I shouted suddenly. "He never did anything to you!"

Ian looked at me, a strange look I'd never seen appearing across his face. Suddenly his lips curled into an evil smile. Then he pulled the trigger on Shippen's gun, which let out a loud _BANG. _I closed my eyes, half expecting to be shot. Instead, I heard a groan beside me, then a few people screamed. I opened my eyes, looking for the person who'd been hit.

Then, to my utter horror, I saw Riley tremble slightly. He lifted his hands, which were now covered in blood. He took a few shaky steps, and then collapsed into my arms. I felt something warm and sticky cover the front of my shirt. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him up. My hands were also covered in his blood.

"NO!" Tears stung behind my eyes. I gently put Riley down on the platform, then whirled around to face Ian. "You!" I took a step forward, but Nicole grabbed my arms. "How could you?! How could you be so evil?!" I screamed hysterically.

The answer I received was the cruelest I'd ever heard. Instead of words, Ian just laughed, a cruel, malicious laugh, and then he was gone. I quickly turned back to Riley, who was shaking, his blood staining his shirt and his jacket.

"It…It hurts." He said weakly. I looked up to Ben.

"Can you pick him up? Let's move him over here." I indicated a ledge in the other room. Ben nodded a scooped Riley up, laying him down gently. "I'll take care of him; you guys find a way out of here." No one moved. "GO!" I cried. Everyone jumped and scrambled to work.

"W-W-What if I…What if I don't g-get out of here?" Riley asked. I could see tears glistening in his eyes.

"Don't talk like that!" I chided softly. "We're going to get out of here." I could taste tears on my own cheeks. "I guess today was the wrong day for me to wear mascara, huh?" I gave him a watery smile, and he attempted to smile back.

"I found it!" Ben cried, pressing the button. The door opened to the room, and everyone but Riley and I crowded in there. Ben stopped halfway in the door.

"It's gone." He said, sounding a bit hoarse.

"Ben…" Nicole began.

"It may have been gone even before Charles Carroll told the story to Thomas Gates." Ben said softly.

"Damn it, Ben!" I walked away from Riley to look at Ben, overcome by a new anger that filled me. "Riley's lying there, he could be dying! He's just been shot for God's sakes! And you're in here feeling sorry for yourself! Give me the pipe from the Charlotte!" I exclaimed. Ben looked taken aback by my outburst, and I saw a flicker of shame cross his face.

"What do you need the pipe-" Ben began.

We don't have time for questions, Benjamin! Just give me the damned pipe!" Everyone stared at me silently, utterly shocked. Ben wordlessly handed me the pipe from the Charlotte and I quickly walked over to the wall, slid the pieces into the place, and turned the dial. The door immediately opened.

I looked up at Ben for a moment. "Look, I'm sorry I yelled. But we really need to get him out of here."

"It's OK, it's understandable." Ben said softly. He walked into the other room and picked up Riley in his arms again. A few minutes later, we were up in the sanctuary, and an ambulance had been called for Riley by a very confused watchman. As the ambulance arrived, I kissed Riley softly on the lips, and as Ben called a taxi for the rest of us, I helplessly watched the flashing lights fade in the distance.

**I feel so evil! I don't know why I end up shooting people…. Well, we shall find out what happens in the next chapter. Sorry if I upset anyone.**


	18. 18: Recovering

Kathleen

**Hey, it's update time!**

**I just thought I'd mention I got some ideas for this chapter from the episode "All Hell Breaks Loose" of the television show **_**Charmed**_**, which I don't own, just so you know.**

**Anyways, I'll get on with the update now. Here it is!**

_**Kathleen**_

The moment I remember most from the trip was arriving at the hospital. I can still remember the stark white hallways, the clean smell of the air, and the clatter of the wheels on the gurney as Riley was rushed down the hall. My heartbeat seemed to pound in my ears.

_This can't be happening. This CANNOT be happening. _

We reached a clean white room at the end of the hallway, and the nurses lifted Riley onto a bed. The doctor began attaching Riley to monitors. He pulled out a stethoscope.

"Lungs failing. Get him an IV."

My vision became blurred by tears and I gently touched his cheek, leaving a red print on his face. I clutched his hand in mine, and his mouth opened and closed, as if he were trying to speak. His breaths were gasps, becoming more difficult each time.

"There's a large entrance wound in abdomen." One of the doctors called out.

"Get 40cc's of adrenaline." Someone ordered.

"I-I-I'm c-cold." He finally managed to choke out. I could see tears on his cheeks, completely ignoring the ones rolling down my own. "I c-can't f-feel my legs."

I let out a small choking noise and my head snapped up. "Can't you do something?!" It came out as more of a demand than a question. The doctor shouted something a few nurses, who dashed out. I stroked Riley's hair. "Don't you dare die. Don't you dare die on me.

"Pulse is dropping."

"I l-l-lo-l-…" The rest came out as gibberish. He gasped a few more times, and it seemed like each time he was using all of his strength just to breathe. Suddenly a terrible sound filled the room, a sound I'd never wanted to hear.

The heart monitor began to flat-line.

"NO!" I let out a wail that reverberated off the sterile walls as I stumbled back in horror. I shook my head, suddenly feeling ill.

_This can't be happening. _

"He's in full arrest. Where are the nurses?" The doctor barked.

A few nurses dashed back in with a cart and the paddles. It was almost surreal as they set everything up. They charged the paddles and tried it. Riley's entire body jumped.

"No response. Recharge."

A second time. Still nothing. A third time. Riley took a shuddering breath, then fell unconscious. My tears ran fresh at the miraculous sound of the monitor

"We need to stabilize him and get him into surgery." The doctor said gently to me. "Could you wait in the lobby with your friends?"

I nodded numbly, holding back my tears. As soon as the swinging doors closed, every shred of reason in my mind totally dissolved. Unable to constrain myself, I dashed down the hall to the lobby, I broke through the door and without warning I flung myself to my knees, beginning to cry hysterically. I buried my face into Ben's lap, my body shaking with sobs. He stroked my hair gently, and Nicole knelt beside me, gently placing a hand on my shoulder.

They didn't ask any questions or say anything. Even if they had, I was completely oblivious to the world around me. I continued for crying for what felt like hours, even though my tears had long since run out.

_**Nicole**_

Never before had I seen someone, especially Kathleen, break down so hard. The days following the treasure hunt were probably the hardest days in her life. Ben and I had gotten a hotel room, and Abigail and Patrick had reluctantly returned to Washington DC. Kathleen, however, refused to leave Riley's side. She slept on a chair in his room and ate very little.

Needless to say, I was worried about her. She'd grown pale and she seemed to shrink into herself. She spent her time in Riley's room, reading or talking to him, even though he was unconscious.

Four days after he'd been shot, Riley finally woke up. I can still remember the excitement and spirit bursting back into Kathleen eye's as she felt his hand move. His eyes slowly opened and he winced.

"Wha…" He attempted to speak, but she silenced him.

"Can you get someone, Ben?" He nodded with a small smile and went to find the doctor, Dr. Williamson. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

"Like I've….been run over. What… happened?"

"Ian shot you." I answered bluntly.

"You don't remember?" Kathleen asked hesitantly.

"I remember… It hurt a lot. And then it got dark. And then really bright. And then…Then it got dark again." He finished weakly.

"I thought I lost you." Kathleen said softly. She kissed his cheek softly and he gave her a small smile.

"Well, I'm here." He said in a whisper. He pressed his lips against hers, and I shielded my eyes.

"God, you've been unconscious for 3 days. You wake up for 2 minutes and you're already back to the PDA."

Kathleen laughed and Riley gave a little smile. I could see something in the way she looked at him that I'd never seen before. It was almost frightening for me. I could tell she _really_ loved him. Not the cheesy love that high school couples claim they have, but it the kind that lasts forever.

I was a bit…surprised that Kathleen had possibly found the love of her life in a fictional person, but I was happy for her nonetheless. I actually felt a smile stretch across my face.

"What are you so happy about?" Kathleen asked.

"Nothing." I said, though I continued to smile. I had a feeling that the next few months in this world probably wouldn't be as bad as the first week was. In fact, I knew it would a _lot_ more fun.

**Yay happy endings! But it's not over yet. There's going to be two more chapters…and possibly a sequel?**

**Would you like that or not? Please tell me when you push that little purple button and review! Now go do it!**


	19. 19: Home

I know I said there would be a few chapters, but I decided to write only one

**I know I said there would be a few chapters, but I decided to write only one.**

**I can't believe this story is already over. I'll miss it so much, but as they say, all good things must come to an end.**

**Here is chapter 19. Please enjoy!**

**--**

**3 Months Later**

I stirred, trying to brush away the sleep. I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes. I felt a pair of lips brush mine, then kiss me firmly. I reached up, wrapping my arms around his neck as he continued to kiss me. After a few moments I pulled away, smiling up at Riley as my eyelids fluttered open.

"Good morning, beautiful." He greeted with a smile.

"Morning." I murmured. I laid my head down on his chest and let out a sigh

"What would you say if I said you were the most beautiful girl in the world?" He asked, stroking my hair.

"I would say love has obviously blinded you." I replied with a small smirk. He let out a little laugh and kissed my forehead.

"I think we're just going to stay here this morning. After all, you're leaving today, and I want to spend as much time with you as possible."

I sat up, stretching my arms. "What exactly do you propose we do with this free time?"

"I think you know." He smirked at me and kissed me again. My arms automatically wrapped around his neck, and he placed his hands on my waist. I moved my hands to his bare chest and then pulled away from his kiss.

"I thought we did this last night." I commented, a bit out of breath.

"Point?"

I shrugged, and we returned to what we'd been doing. Barely a minute alter, just as things were getting heated, my cell phone rang. I pulled away from him, and he sighed a bit as I grabbed it off the nightstand.

"Hey, Nicole. What do you want? Riley and I are…busy."

"_I just wanted to remind you that we're…What do you mean by busy?"_

"Never mind that. What do you want?" I repeated, a bit irritated.

"_I just wanted to know when you were coming over." _She said.

"Later." I snapped my phone shut without even saying goodbye, and then turned back to Riley, my lips curling into a seductive smile. "So, refresh my memory. Where were we?"

"I know exactly where we were." He said with a little grin. I smirked back, and we returned to our business.

--

A few hours later, we arrived at Ben's house in the Ferrari. We caught sight of the threesome walking through the garden. We walked over to where they were standing.

"And maybe we could put a little patio over…" Abigail paused when she Riley and I standing together, and she smiled. "Where have you two lovebirds been? We've been waiting for you all morning."

"We were caught up." Riley said with a little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. Abigail grinned, and Nicole looked at me suspiciously.

"What?" I shrugged. Nicole opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by Riley's cell phone.

"Hello?" We all began to walk through the garden. I clasped Riley's free hand in mine as he talked. "Oh, hi. It's nice to talk to you again. Mhm. Yes, I remember. I'll be sure to tell them. You got it chief, Thank you. Bye." He snapped his phone shut and I looked at him curiously.

"What was that about?"

"They want us in Cairo next week for the opening of the exhibit. They're sending a private jet."

Nicole and I glanced at each other. "Riley…" I began softly.

"Oh, that's right. You're not going to going with us, are you?"

"Nope." Nicole shook her head, "As much as I would love to go on a trip to Cairo with you guys, we kind of have to go home."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that." Ben commented.

"Well, even if those two are going to be gone, it's not that big of a deal. Could've had a whole _fleet_ of private jets. Ten percent, Ben. They offered you ten percent and you turned them down."

"Enough already, Riley! I mean, you could probably use a little extra money considering, you're going to have a little financial trouble in the next – OW!" I elbowed Nicole hard in the ribs mid-sentence.

"What?" Riley looked a bit confused.

"Nothing," I said with a little sigh.

"We went over this, Riley." Ben said with a sigh. "It was too much money. I couldn't accept it."

"Well, I've got this splinter in my finger. It's been festering for three months from an old piece of wood. _Three months!_" Riley exclaimed, holding out his finger.

"Ew, Riley, I told you to take that thing out." I chided.

"Next time we discover a treasure that redefines history for all mankind, you get the call on finder's fee, Ry." Ben said with a little smirk.

"It's not as funny. At least you got the girl." Riley said, sounding a little disappointed as he stole a glance in my direction.

"True." Abigail and Ben both agreed, kissing each other.

"Yuck!" Nicole shouted. "You people and your constant kissing!" She muttered. I glanced her, and then at Riley.

"That's our cue Nikki." I said softly.

"Right." She nodded. I looked up at Riley for a long moment.

"I'll miss you." I said softly. He nodded.

"I'll miss you too, if I'm allowed to remember you."

I laughed a little bit, then suddenly reached up and kissed him. The kiss lasted a few seconds, and then I pulled away, biting my lip.

"I'll come back, I promise."

"Well you can count me out!" Nicole exclaimed. "I've had enough of nearly dying in movies."

I laughed a little bit. I felt Riley slip something into my hand, and then he kissed my cheek.

"I guess this is goodbye." He said quietly.

"Yeah." I looked down at the dirt path. He jumped over the door of his Ferrari and smiled at me.

"Should I drive away into the distance now?" He asked. I laughed and nodded. He smiled.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Riley." I said softly. He started his car and began to drive away, crunching the gears as he went down the driveway. With a heavy heart, I turned around to face Ben and Abby.

"Well?" Nicole prompted Abigail. "Are you going to give it to him, or do we ahev to stand here all day?"

"Give me what?" Ben asked quizzically.

"I made you a little map." Abigail said, grinning slyly.

"Where does it lead to?" Ben asked.

"You'll figure it out." Abigail said with a smirk, and Ben began to chase her towards the house.

"Go on and have fun, you crazy kids!" Nicole called after them.

"I figure we only have a few more seconds until-" I stopped mid-sentence as I felt a familiar pulling sensation and the roar of television static. Then everything went black.

--

When I opened my eyes, I found myself in Nicole's bedroom, the same place I'd been before. I was even standing in the same spot and wearing the same clothes. The movie appeared to be just beginning. Nicole let out a little groan. "Can you turn that off? I'm getting tired. And besides, I lived that movie."

I rolled my eyes and went to turn off the TV when I remembered the small object Riley had pressed into my hand. My hand, which had been clamped firmly around the object, opened, and I let out a little gasp. It was a small ring, with a little diamond on it. I swallowed hard, closing my hand around the ring again.

"_I was thinking about Hanson and -"_

I switched off the television, and noticed Nicole had already fallen asleep. I walked over to the window, glancing out at the stars. I could almost feel his hand on my shoulder, pulling me back. But when I turned around, no one was there. I shook off the feeling and slid the ring onto my finger. I looked back out the window, began to feel drowsy myself. I took a deep breath, and murmured a few words to the stars.

"Until we meet again, Mr. Poole."

--

_Fin_

--

**I personally don't like the ending, but it's late at night. Give me a break. My day was very hectic, because there was a lot of bad weather that got on my nerves. **

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**Thanks so much to you all for sticking with this story. It had ****126 reviews!**** That's the most reviews I've ever had for a story. You have no idea how much it means to me, knowing that so many of you liked this story so much. For that I am forever thankful, because one thing every author needs is proof that someone out there likes her work, and you all have given me that.**

**Thanks to all of you for everything that you've done to get me to finish this story. I know it's not the greatest story in the world, but you liked it anyways, and I thank you for that!**

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**-Michelle**


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